Solentum and Pessl partner up in potato precision ag

Pessl Instruments, headquartered in Austria, is a global manufacturer and provider of advanced agricultural technology solutions and holistic tools for informed decision-making under the METOS brand. Solentum is a service company from Holland, offering data-driven solutions for the international potato value chain.

Better decisions and better ROI

Together the companies are to explore new possibilities and market opportunities to support the potato chain by delivering tools which give more information and seamless integration, so clients will be able to make better decisions and have a better ROI.

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iMTOS ECO D3 station in a potato field. This station is used for soil moisture monitoring, irrigation management and hydrology.- Photo: Pessl Instruments

Mr. Egbert Bakker, the managing director of Solentum, says: “We believe that the partnership agreement which Pessl Instruments and Solentum have closed, adds value to our customers. Being a part of the Pessl Instruments ecosystem opens up a global network for Solentum. We also share the vision that combined tools and services of both companies will improve decision making and support the potato value chain. With this partnership we will be able to improve the cooperation with our clients.”

Estimate and monitor yield before harvest

Gottfried Pessl, CEO and Founder of Pessl Instruments adds: “For over 25 years we have been working with leading potato growers and vertically integrated companies. Not only to assist them in better irrigation management, but also to help them manage the diseases and insects better. The partnership with Solentum opens up a new horizon for us where we will be able to estimate and monitor yield before the harvest, and control the entire food chain, including storage conditions, better.”

Weather stations, data loggers and sensors

As a result of the partnership between Pessl and Solentum, potato growers will have access to the complete range of tools under the METOS brand, including weather stations and data loggers. Furthermore, over 45 different sensors are to help measure all of the essential parameters (from leaf, soil and air temperature, through relative humidity and rainfall, to radiation) to help with irrigation management, insect monitoring, disease modelling, nutrition management, and more.

All data collected by this hardware is stored in FieldClimate, the web platform for collecting and displaying agrometeorological data.

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As a result of the partnership between Pessl and Solentum, potato growers will have access to the complete range of tools under the METOS brand, including weather stations and data loggers. – Photo: Pessl Instruments

Benefits for potato growers

The benefits for potato growers, are according to Pessl:

• Precise weather monitoring helps growers to make decisions such as when to seed, how much to irrigate, when to spray and how much
• Frost warning
• Optimising work planning
• Avoiding unnecessary trips to the field
• Applying the right amount of water and fertilise at the right time
• Decreasing environmental impact
• Providing valuable data for plant disease model calculations to improve plant protection and prevent crop losses
• Insect control in real-time
• Soil analysis for quick and reliable measurement of nitrogen in the soil (helps to pick the right fertiliser, how much to apply, on what part of the field, etc.)
• Altogether saving the grower time and money, and at the same time gain more yield

SolGrader and SolAntenna Storage

Solentum offers SolGrader and SolAntenna Storage. The benefits of SolGrader are:

• Objective potato sample data, directly in the field
• Realtime calculations of potato samples
• Monitor the growing cycle of potato crops
• Fact based decisions during the growing season like killing the haulm moment
• Gain more yield

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The benefits of SolAntenna Storage are:

• Real time measuring of Temperature, RH, CO2 for right adjustments
• Right decisions in optimum time
• Ability to optimise quality to avoid losses through sprouting, shrinkage & water loss, accumulation of sugar, loss of vigour in tubers
• No human intervention leads to data accuracy and protection
• Better yield

The combined tools are available as of now.