Abstract
“Plantvoice” is an Italian startup that has patented an innovative sensor technology that allows you to know in real time the health and stress status of plants through an accurate analysis of the sap. By analyzing the data thanks to native artificial intelligence, you get the digital footprint of every type of plant stress, from that due to infestations to that caused by drought. Thanks to this technology, it is therefore possible not only to prevent the spread of causes of stress for crops, but also to improve the yield and quality of crops, as well as obtaining economic savings, in terms of efficiency of consumption of water resources, fertilizers and pesticides.
The founders of the startup are Matteo Beccatelli – chemist, inventor specialized in the creation of patented technologies, with experience in various research and development projects between Italy and the United States in the field of sensors (CNR and Bercella) – and his brother, Tommaso Beccatelli – electronics technician, agricultural entrepreneur, and expert in additive manufacturing technologies. The company has established its headquarters in the NOI Techpark Südtirol/Alto Adige, the science and technology park of the autonomous province of Bolzano which hosts 3 research institutes, 4 faculties of the Free University of Bolzano, 45 scientific laboratories, 90 companies and start-ups and several other Italian and foreign institutions, all engaged in research and development activities.
The voices of plants
How it works
Plantvoice’s technology is composed of a biocompatible device that is introduced directly into the plant stem, allowing real-time monitoring of the plant’s internal physiological data (the sap). The detection is done by adopting a “sentinel plant” approach that is achieved by sensorizing a plant representative of the homogeneous agronomic plot in which it is inserted, with an average size of half a hectare. Once the data has been captured, the sensor sends it to the cloud to an AI software that analyzes it using customized algorithms to provide detailed information, for example on a possible insufficient water supply or on an attack by bacteria and fungi. Information that helps agricultural companies make timely decisions to preserve the health and qualitative yield of crops and to optimize the use of water.
Unlike other agricultural technologies (e.g. meteorological, soil, radiation and temperature sensors, satellite images, drones, etc.), which provide farmers with external data to the plant relating to its surrounding environment, Plantvoice collects internal data directly from the plant (almost like “an electrocardiogram of the plant”), relating to its physiology, allowing for rapid detection of anomalies in its health status.
The Plantvoice revolution: “looking” inside and not outside
Matteo Beccatelli began his career as an inventor working closely with athletes, creating sensors inside technical clothing to analyze the sweat generated during training. The Swemax sensor produced by his first startup Biometrica, in fact, is able to “read” the sweat of athletes, “learning” and indicating when to integrate liquids and mineral salts to prevent cramps and injuries. Now the inventor is using the same principles to monitor the health of plant species. «The sensor analyzes the sap and sends data to farmers in real time, a bit like when human patients are connected to a medical monitor. Our sensor is harmless to plants: it is 3D printed using a wooden substrate so that it is not rejected by the plant and can read the electrical signals from the sap» explains the company founder. «During the photosynthesis phases, during the night, a flow of ions moves from the roots to the top of the tree and produces glucose and nutrients. This flow slows down significantly during the day, so you can see changes in the vital signals. With this data we can accurately identify the type of stress, the type of disease, the needs of the plant and therefore improve the value of production and reduce costs». Generally, agricultural companies already rely on technologies to improve the harvest and the quality of their products such as weather stations, soil quality analysis and the use of satellite mapping to provide an image of the health of the crops, but these technologies only look at the signals external to the plant, obtaining a snapshot of what is happening around the plant. «But they do not provide indications of what is happening inside, which is instead fundamental for us» specifies the founder. «When the probe is inserted into the plant, the first parameter we see is the concentration of mineral salts that are dissolved inside the liquid and then we evaluate the changes in this concentration over time. Our technology plays a crucial role in disease diagnosis, in preventing drought stress or fungal or bacterial infections through the analysis of data generated by the sap, data that anticipate by several days the symptomatic manifestations on the external parts of the plant, that is, before it is too late».
The AI technology of the “sentinel plant”
The sensor is a little larger than a toothpick and is inserted into the trunk of the plant through a hole. «Making a hole in the plant does not cause damage» says Tommaso Beccatelli, CTO and cofounder of Plantvoice. «It can cause a little stress that will disappear after a few days. The sensor is the same for all types of fruit trees, only the point where it is inserted inside the plant changes depending on its size». In the cultivated field, the plant acts as a “sentinel”: for a plot of land, it is possible to evaluate the health of the crop and therefore obtain a sort of “blood analysis” or electrocardiogram of the plant, generating data that, once reprocessed with the help of AI, are able to clearly indicate the stress of the crops, such as that due to irrigation or plant diseases. In this case, stress analysis can be very useful to prevent the onset of diseases, thus reducing the use of pesticides, or to better dose water and fertilizers.
The device inserted into the trunk tracks the fluctuations in the levels of mineral salts inside the sap, converting them into electrical signals that are processed and inserted into the PlantVoice artificial intelligence algorithm that provides real-time information to farmers via an app with a very simplified interface. «It works like a sort of traffic light» says Tommaso while scrolling the APP interface: «it communicates whether the plant is in the right state or if there is a problem: the green light represents optimal health, the yellow one warns that there could be problems, while the red one informs the farmer that there is a critical problem and his direct intervention is required».
Water savings of up to 40%
According to calculations that the startup itself has made directly on the fields where the devices are already at work, Plantvoice’s artificial intelligence technology allows you to increase productivity by 10% to 20% with a saving of up to 40% of water and it does so by preventing diseases and maximizing production or even avoiding mechanical processes to replace plants that die in the field. Plantvoice also claims that the reports from its sensors will help farmers reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides by up to 30%. This is an ambitious goal, especially considering how much modern agriculture can require in terms of resources, especially water. «Imagine having a 200-acre plot of land and thousands of fruit trees planted inside» explains Matteo Beccattelli. «Having a technology that provides you with precise information on the health of the plant allows you to save thousands of liters of water and to irrigate in time and in the best way. It is a saving that not only affects the amount of water poured, but also the electricity that powers the irrigation pumps and the nutrients dissolved in it”.
According to a FAO report, in fact, 70% of global human water consumption is destined for agriculture but 60% of the water used in this sector is wasted due to inefficient irrigation systems (1). And agriculture is also responsible for 17% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
«Plantvoice was born from the urgency of trying to solve two of the main problems related to the agricultural sector: water consumption, which at a global level depends largely on agricultural activities, and land exploitation. When we designed our technology we had in mind to solve precisely these problems. And we did it by creating a tool that does not invade nature and does not modify it, but thanks to the use of AI provides useful information to agricultural companies to better manage all resources» – says Matteo Beccatelli. «Water is now a precious commodity, pesticides have impacts on the environment and human health, fertilizers have effects in terms of soil impoverishment: we have created a device, the size and shape of a toothpick, which, thanks to the intelligent processing of previously inaccessible data, makes it possible to reduce the use of water and chemical substances».
Experiments in Italian agricultural fields
«Evaluating the physiological conditions of a vine using data from the vine trunk represents a huge step forward, both in terms of sustainability and in improving the organoleptic qualities of the final product» explains agronomist Mattia Dell’orto, head of the research and development sector of the Umbrian company “Arnaldo Caprai” since 2011. A historic wine producer in Umbria, the winery has always been interested in agritech solutions and for several years has developed a real “digital vine” where different smart technologies interact, such as weather stations with cameras, underground water sensors, automated insect traps, drones and robots. «In recent years we have been witnessing long periods of drought and strong heat waves. Even if the vine is a plant that can benefit from little water, imbalances are created that are difficult to manage and this is the main reason why we decided to adopt this innovative technology to monitor our Sagrantino vines and improve the management of controlled water stress» concludes Dell’orto.
Plantvoice’s experimental technology has been in action in Italian agricultural fields for over a year, adopted by growers of various types of fruit trees. Sant’Orsola, an organization of Trentino producers specialized in the cultivation of small fruits, has used Plantvoice to monitor water stress on raspberry crops; Salvi Vivai, a company from Ferrara that has been producing and selling strawberry, apple, pear and cherry plants for 50 years, has installed Plantvoice technology on Pink Lady apples to correlate water stress with the color, shape and appearance of the ripe fruit.
Martino Rossi, a company from Cremona that has been producing gluten-free flours, alternative products, functional ingredients and customized gluten-free mixes for 50 years.
But there are also more complex crops such as kiwi, vines and olives. Alessandro Adito’s family runs “Ardito Felice”, one of the most successful olive growing companies in Puglia, in southern Italy. «We wanted to try a solution that can measure what happens inside the plant precisely, so we can make sure it’s healthy, because we wanted to know why there is a different response among olive trees even if we give them the same treatment. The data collected with this technology can help us better understand what happens inside a tree: there’s a lot we don’t know about plants, how they respond to certain types of stress and how certain nutrients are distributed through their various parts».
