Israeli Firm DOTS Launches Electro-Optical Sensor to Change Agriculture
Israeli start-up DOTS (Data Of The Soil) has launched a new technology that could have a dramatic impact on global agriculture, sustainability and the health of the global population: an electro-optical sensor and information system which helps users optimize fertilizer usage based on continuous and readily available soil data, making it possible to significantly reduce the use of fertilizers.
The technology is set to mitigate agriculture’s damage to the environment from groundwater contamination, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and may also significantly improve the quantity, quality and shelf life of the crops, which will benefit both growers and consumers.
DOTS has raised half a million dollars from the Israel Innovation Authority, in addition to $1.2 million from Labs/02, whose investors include OurCrowd and the multinational Indian corporation Reliance Industries.
By detecting and monitoring soil fertilization levels, DOTS enables accurate timing of fertilization cycles and prevents fertilizer overuse. Comparing the sensor to standard laboratory tests shows that the accuracy of the technology is above 92%.
Moreover, a series of successful experiments in Israeli tomato greenhouses have demonstrated fertilizer savings of 30% during the growing season, without any damage to the resulting crop. (JPost / VFI News)
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