A new artificial intelligence tool that enables growers to select the best vegetable seed varieties and optimise their commercial crop portfolio has been launched by Syngenta Vegetable Seeds and Heritable Agriculture.
The initiative seeks to streamline the process of matching crops with specific environmental and market conditions, replacing the traditional time-intensive process through which seed companies evaluate data, trial different varieties and source grower feedback.
Utilising historical data on geographical conditions and crop trialing, Heritable Agriculture, a company that originated out of Google X, Alphabet’s ‘Moonshot Factory’, will use AI tools synchronised with Syngenta’s global product portfolio to determine the best-performing commercial varieties in different regions.
‘Planting the right seed’
“Planting the right seed is critical to a grower’s success. New technologies such as AI can help us bring the best innovation to the field or greenhouse,” commented Matthew Johnston, Global Head of Vegetable Seeds and Flowers at Syngenta.
“We’re thrilled to partner with a leader in AI and decision science in the agricultural space, which will provide an exciting opportunity to explore how to better leverage our portfolio for the benefit of growers.”
The work involves dissecting the interaction between genetics and specific environmental traits, such as weather conditions, soil variables, and additional proprietary data. It is hoped that the system will eventually be able to predict seed performance at a resolution of ten meters.
‘Cutting-edge AI’
“We are excited to work with Syngenta to help bring cutting-edge AI tools to help them place products more efficiently,” added Brad Zamft, CEO of Heritable Agriculture.
“This collaboration with their vegetable seeds team is a great example of the kinds of markets and applications that can be embraced when targeting the latest in AI towards all portions of the agricultural industry.”
The collaboration builds on Syngenta’s ongoing efforts to integrate AI and digital tools into its operations, such as the introduction of Cropwise AI, a chatbot feature in its digital platform. Read more here.
