CropX
CropX Technologies, Ltd., an Israeli agtech company, launched a new capability for its farm management system. The company says that this first-of-its-kind capability continuously tracks the movement of nitrogen and salts in the soil. CropX boasts that its solution is easier, less time-consuming and able to supply continuous monitoring of nitrogen leaching events than traditional methods of lab testing.
One year ago CropX acquired the Dutch platform Dacom Farm Intelligence.
Founded in 2015, the company boasts that its CropX system is affordable, easy to install, and helps farmers sustainably increase crop yield and quality by significantly reducing water, fertilization and energy usage and costs while minimizing runoff and waterway pollution. CropX has demonstrated over 40% water savings across different crop types and measured yield increases over 10%.
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The US Department of Agriculture says that nitrogen is usually the most limiting crop nutrient. Nitrogen is added to soil naturally from N fixation by soil bacteria and legumes and through atmospheric deposition in rainfall. Additional N is typically supplied to the crop by fertilizers, manure, or other organic materials. Nitrogen is needed in agriculture, but too much is a problem and every crop is different, so farmers need to measure its amount to ensure that each crop gets the right amount of it.
The EU explains the accumulation of salts (particularly sodium salts) is one of the main physiological threats to ecosystems and agriculture. Salt disturbs plant development by limiting its nutrient uptake and reducing the quality of the water available to the plant. It affects the metabolism of soil organisms, leading to severely reduced soil fertility. High levels of salinity in soils provoke the withering of plants, as a result, both of the increase in osmotic pressure and the toxic effects of salts.
Salts dissolve and move around with water. When the water evaporates, the salts are left behind. And salt deposits are a growing problem due to climate change as groundwater is being used up everywhere and much of what is left is brackish, leaving behind more salts in the soil.
CropX says that the nitrogen leaching monitoring capability can help farms monitor and reduce the environmental impact of nitrogen leaching while maximizing production, and plant and soil health. When nitrogen is lost through leaching farms are not able to realize the full impact of their nitrogen investment for plant growth leading to reduced yields. Nitrogen leaching can also have a negative environmental impact which farms want to avoid. With continuous tracking farms can understand conditions leading to leaching events and avoid future occurrences.
The CropX technology combines real-time data on soil moisture, temperature, and electric conductivity (EC), captured by soil sensors, with proprietary algorithms created and lab-tested by a team of staff agronomists. The information is then presented on the CropX farm management system dashboard for easy viewing and reporting. By monitoring for leaching events throughout the season CropX customers create a record which allows them to proactively show responsible nitrogen management.
“Farmers want to avoid nitrogen leaching and keep their soil healthy. Not only are they stewards of their land, but they also strive to sustainably maximize food production,” says Bridgit Hawkins Chief Sustainability Officer, CropX Technologies. “We’re thrilled to bring them such a powerful solution for this challenge.”
