Israeli startup DOTS (Data Of The Soil) is unveiling its groundbreaking technology for direct and continuous measurement of fertilizer concentration in agricultural soils, which could have a dramatic impact on global agriculture, sustainability, and the health of the global population.
At the heart of the system is the company's unique electro-optical sensor that detects and monitors the soil fertilization level, enables accurate timing of fertilization cycles, and prevents fertilizer overuse.
DOTS' technological solution straddles two fields - agritech and climate tech, and so its impact is at once global and multilayered. DOTS' technology also supports the achievement of eight of the UN's seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including good health and well-being, clean water, zero hunger, climate action, and more.
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.
DOTS was conceived at Ben-Gurion University following a seven-year study, led by Prof. Ofer Dahan, Dr. Elad Yeshno of the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, and Prof. Shlomi Arnon of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The three developed a first of its kind system which is based on algorithmically driven spectral analysis, which enables continuous and real-time measurement of nitrate levels in the soil. The system provides a highly detailed, dynamic picture of nitrate concentrations in the root zone. In the future, the company's system will interface with farmers' fertilization and irrigation controllers and allow optimal fertilization in a fully automated manner based on real-time nitrate measurements.
The three researchers filed four patents for the technology, and in 2021, together with Rafi Levi, founded DOTS, located at the Be'er Sheva Advanced Technologies Park. Since its establishment, DOTS 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. The company is preparing to raise additional capital to support the product's development and bring it to market.
DOTS is signing partnership agreements with large European and American companies that are interested in harnessing the technology to improve fertilizer application, boost savings and mitigate agriculture's damaging effect on water sources and public health.
Rafi Levi, co-founder and CEO of DOTS, noted: "The impact of fertilizers on crop quality and quantity, together with the lack of technology for continuous fertilizer monitoring in the soil, has led the agricultural industry to a “better safe than sorry” policy in an effort prevent nutrient deficiencies and loss of crops. This process translates into heavy capital losses for farmers as well as into major environmental damage in the form of groundwater contamination and, no less seriously, considerable greenhouse gas emissions (both CO2 and N2O). This is a critical global problem that threatens both the planet and human health."
"The global agricultural industry consumes 210 million tons of fertilizers a year, with a total value of over $200 billion, but studies show that over 40% of the applied fertilizers don't reach the plants," Levi added. "The practical result is that these fertilizers are wasted and that 84 million tons a year (about $80 billion annually) are actually over-fertilization. DOTS is first targeting the irrigated crop market, which is worth around $25 billion. The technology we’ve developed will help boost farmers' profits by tens of percent. At the same time, it will support global efforts for sustaining water resources and preventing groundwater pollution."
In addition to the cost of excess fertilization, secondary costs resulting from pollution are enormous. In Europe, hundreds of billions of euros are allocated each year for medical treatments resulting directly from soil contamination. In the US, 60 million people are exposed annually to nitrate-contaminated water and tens of billions of dollars are invested in purifying it (an average of about $600 a year per American).
"Over the years, no practical and cost-effective technology has been found to measure the amount of fertilizer in the soil," remarked Dr. Elad Yeshno, co-founder and CTO of DOTS. "Moreover, the European Union regards pollution from nitrate as an immediate danger to water resources and accordingly has issued a Nitrates Directive to find a solution to the problem and reduce fertilizer overuse in agriculture. As a result, environmental bodies such as the US EPA, governments around the world, and major bodies such as the United Nations and the European Union need an effective tool in the effort of reducing excessive fertilization during agricultural activity. We intend to act at all levels to demonstrate to legislators and the regulators the capabilities of our new and groundbreaking tool, which achieves optimal application of fertilizers at minimal cost, thereby significantly reducing pollution as a result of agricultural activity."
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