(This post is related to Shely’s appearance on the Hardware to Save a Planet podcast)

As the world’s population continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, food production and distribution have become major global concerns. Climate change has also become a critical concern for the future of agriculture and food security. Fortunately, innovative technology is transforming agriculture and addressing climate change, and the results are promising. Innovative technology has transformed agriculture in many ways, including precision agriculture, advanced materials, and digital agriculture.

Agriculture is responsible for around 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Inefficiencies in agriculture also have economic and environmental impacts downstream. As much as 30% of pesticides are wasted annually, costing an extra 250 billion and impacting air, soil, and water quality. Despite that, we still lose as much as 40% of our crop yields yearly to pathogens. Shelly and Interplant are tackling those inefficiencies with a very cool approach. They’re turning plants into living sensors to communicate their specific needs. 

Precision agriculture involves using technology to optimize crop yields and reduce waste while promoting biodiversity and sustainability. Digital agriculture involves using data and technology to optimize every aspect of the farming process, from planting to harvesting. 

Shely Aronov is the Founder and CEO of InnerPlan, and this Agritech company turns crops into living sensors for a triple win of improving biodiversity, impacting climate change, and improving agricultural yields. Shely was recently on the Hardware to Save a Planet podcast, where she covered multiple touchpoints around how addressing agricultural inefficiencies also impacts climate change.

Listen to the podcast to learn how satellite imagery, hyperspectral cameras, and collecting genomic data can help detect plant health and reduce chemical usage for a cleaner and greener environment. Learn how InnerPlant is overcoming the challenge of balancing agricultural yield with social impact and environmental sustainability. 

Here are some excerpts from the episode, be sure to listen to the podcast via the link at the end of this blog.

An Overview of InnerPlant’s Technology and Process

Plants are susceptible to environmental changes and have a highly evolved reaction. For instance, a lack of Nitrogen in the soil causes the roots to go deeper. These changes are triggered by a change in the plant’s DNA. InnerPlant has developed a technology that adds a line of code to the plant’s DNA. Every time an environmental change stresses the plant, the plant produces a protein that creates an optical fluorescent signal that can be monitored remotely, even from satellites in space. Also, when the plant produces its seeds, the seeds’ DNA will carry that code line, making the change self-propagating.

“There are two challenges to developing this technology. One is you have to make the plants create a signal, and the other is you have to collect the signal, and both are equally challenging”.

What is the Environmental and Agricultural Impact of the Technology?

Based on statistics, 30-50% of fertilizer is over-applied, while 50% of pesticides are misapplied, meaning they’re applied at the wrong time. The combined impact cuts the agricultural yield by up to 40%. It also affects biodiversity as the over-application of fertilizers kills the soil’s ability to sequester environmental carbon. By enabling the plants to define when they need fertilizers and pesticides, we’re protecting biodiversity, addressing climate change, and raising agricultural yields—a triple win.   

An Under-the-Hood Look at How the Process Works

Shely explains the process using the example of the soybean seed. The seed carries a code to trigger anti-fungal fluorescence. If a fungus attacks the plant, satellites in space activate and capture the signal. The satellites can capture the signal at a one-acre-per-pixel resolution. The monitoring station then advises the farmer on the acre that needs attention. John Deere sprayers are retrofitted with sensors that can monitor the plants within that acre, emitting the signal and spraying only those plants. 

“We’re creating knowledge in our plants, and the right data will provide that knowledge, which removes the inefficiencies”.

The InnerPlant Business Model

InnerPlant is building an ecosystem of partners to deliver the solution to the farmers. The simplest and most scalable solution is to sell seeds that have the code embedded in them. The farmers can then work with the partners downstream, who would monitor the signals from the plants and update the farmers on the required follow-up actions. Initially, the company is selling the seeds, but once the ecosystem is in place and mature, they want to own and monetize the signals and the data. 

“We will sell direct seeds in the early stages, but long-term, we don’t want to be a seed company. We are not going to be in the tractor or satellite business. We are in the business of creating, analyzing, and monetizing the signals”. 

A Peek at the Solution’s Hardware  

As a first step, the fluorescence must be detected, and surface-based detection would require additional light sources and cameras. However, when detecting from space, the company used electrophysiology techniques to develop a sensor that could detect the fluorescence in sunlight. The cameras on the satellite are programmed with custom algorithms to detect the signals, which are then relayed to a ground station for evaluation and further action. 

“The signals go away when the problem is resolved. A week later, we can collect satellite imagery and validate that the action produced the result, eliminating the disease”.

A Quick Word About Shely Aronov

Shely Aronov is an experienced entrepreneur who thrives on solving complex and meaningful problems. She believes no other industry is more critical to our society than agriculture. Shely’s mission at InnerPlant is to develop tools that will help feed the world sustainably while driving a positive environmental impact.

Shely and her team at InnerPlant are implementing a scalable and affordable solution that uses signals from plants to optimize the use of chemicals while increasing agricultural yields. 

Join Us on Hardware to Save a Planet

The Hardware to Save a Planet podcast explores the technical innovations that give us hope in the fight against climate change. Each episode focuses on a specific climate challenge and explores an emerging physical technology solution, with the person bringing it into reality.

  • To discover more about how precision and digital farming is yielding a triple win, tune in to the latest episode of Hardware to Save a Planet, brought to you by Synapse.