Sporing New Insights

Taking preventative measures before disease infects crops is critical to protecting crop yields, but applying fungicide when disease threats are not significant decreases profitability. But is it possible to know if a disease threat is present in your fields? Kristine White, CEO of Spornado, joins this episode of the FarmBits podcast to discuss how her company is providing predictive fungal disease insights with its Spornado Sampler. The Spornado Sampler is an in-field device that stands above the crop canopy and captures airborne fungal spores that may be analyzed to determine imminent disease threats. In this episode, we discuss how the Spornado Sampler currently works, the insights it enables, and the impending digital evolution of the Spornado Sampler. While the device is not currently digital, the data it generates can be leveraged in conjunction with other digital technologies and future iterations of the device are expected to include digital components for real-time monitoring. If you'd like to learn more, take a look at the links below.