Imagine a dipstick for plants that tells you exactly what vitamins they need right now. Instead of guessing and over-fertilizing, farmers use a simple test strip on plant sap to get a precise reading. This data goes into a smart system that maps out exactly where and how much fertilizer to use across a whole field.
Farmers struggle to determine the exact amount of fertilizer needed, leading to environmental contamination and wasted resources. Current digital tools lack the precision and timeliness of laboratory tests.
A laboratory-grade biosensor test strip for N-P-K nutrients and an ensemble of predictive models for nutrient prescriptions.
If you are a software provider dealing with imprecise nutrient mapping — this project developed a biosensor and predictive model ensemble that provides field-scale nutrient prescriptions. This allows your users to optimize fertilizer use based on real-time sap measurements.
If you are a manufacturer dealing with environmental regulations and high greenhouse gas emissions — this project developed a point-of-use sensing tool that reduces over-application. This helps your clients comply with the EU Nitrates Directive while lowering the environmental footprint of your products.
If you are a consultant dealing with the lack of timely, laboratory-grade data in the field — this project developed 20,000 N-P-K test strips and a recommendation service. You can offer your clients a subscription-based precision fertilization plan based on actual plant status.
Based on available project data, the intended commercial exploitation will be through a subscription-based fertilization recommendation service for farmers.
The project is scaling by producing 20,000 test strips for N-P-K nutrients and expanding testing from Bavaria to all of Germany in the second year.
Based on available project data, the results will be commercially exploited by a company providing the recommendation service, though specific licensing terms are not detailed.
The tool enables farmers to comply with the EU Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) and the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC).
The project runs from 2023-06-01 to 2026-05-31, with field testing in Bavaria in year one and expansion to all of Germany in year two.
The project is currently led by a single academic partner, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, with a 0% industry ratio. While this indicates a strong scientific foundation, the project's objective explicitly focuses on identifying strategic partners and testing business models with farmers to bridge the gap to commercialization.
Contact the research group at Technische Universitaet Muenchen specializing in plant biosensors.
Contact us to connect with the TUM team for pilot integration or licensing discussions.
