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Farmers Set To Benefit From New Partnership Between Yara And Pessl Instruments

By Peder Aarseth Krøgenes
Agriculture Farmers Set To Benefit From New Partnership Between Yara And Pessl Instruments
NOV 11, 2016 LISTEN

Bologna, Italy, 10 November 2016: Yara International ASA (Yara) and Pessl Instruments are announcing a new partnership to market the Yara Water Solution as part of the Pessl Instruments¹ eco-system of smart farming solutions.

With increased water scarcity and agriculture consuming 70% of the global freshwater resources, demand is surging for new agricultural solutions. The new partnership will offer improved crop management for farmers by optimizing the use of water and crop nutrition.

³Collaborating with Pessl Instruments enables us to offer a solution that increases the profitability and productivity of farming through greater nutrient and water use efficiency,² said Pål Øystein Stormorken, Head of Application & Crop Management System in Yara.

The move is an another step in strengthening Yara¹s precision farming offering, adding improved solutions to allow real-time monitoring of crop, soil and weather data to ensure optimal use of scarce resources like water, land and nutrients.

What is the Yara Water-Sensor?
This new method is a continuous, non-destructive measurement of changes in turgor pressure in the leaf.

Turgor pressure is the pressure caused by fluid pushing against the cell wall of plant cells. It boosts the plant¹s rigidness so that it stands straight and maintains normal cellular functions. As the turgor pressure is the driving force for plant growth and fruit production, proper water management is important. If a plant is not able to access enough water, it cannot maintain turgor pressure, causing it to wilt. The Yara Water-Sensor measures the difference between magnetic pressure and turgor.

A Yara Water Solution Kit consists of 10 Yara Water-Sensors to be installed on five different trees (within a range of 500 meters) and is optimal for irrigation plots up to 15 ha.

The Water Solution
The aim is to apply water and nutrients on demand to optimize the resources, improving crop quality and quantity.

The combined Pessl-Yara solution offers real-time measurement of weather, soil-moisture and turgor pressure in the leaves, in addition to analytical data from soil and leaf analysis.

Farmers will be able to access real-time recommendations for irrigation and recommendations for crop nutrition, in addition historical information of evapotranspiration and weather forecast displayed through ³MyYara², which is Yara¹s farmer engagement portal for crop management.

The Yara Water Solution is currently available for olives and citrus. Research and trials for additional crops like grapevine, pome and stone fruits, nuts and coffee are ongoing and will be launched in due course.

Water, weather and soil data on the same platform

The Yara Water-Sensors are integrated into the existing hardware platform of Pessl Instruments.

³Pessl Instruments manufactures, develops and distributes real-time, internet-linked, solar powered measurement devices which is connected to the FieldClimate.com platform. The Yara Water-Sensor data together with the weather and soil data are sent wirelessly via Pessl Instruments proprietary radio network and their API to the MyYara platform², said Gottfried Pessl, CEO and Founder of Pessl Instrument.

About Pessl Instruments GmbH
Pessl Instruments (PI), which is headquartered in Weiz, Austria, was founded in 1984 by current CEO Gottfried Pessl has daughter companies in USA, Brazil, Ukraine, Turkey, South Africa, Portugal and does business in more than 80 countries. Pessl develops and distributes climate monitoring, agricultural risk ­ and irrigation management technology solutions for its farming customer base. PI´s products, which are globally distributed under the´Metos®´ brand, include weather stations, soil moisture monitoring devices, irrigation automation controllers, electronic insect traps, remote crop monitoring systems, disease and pest warning software and localized weather forecasts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZY30zhDUXY

For more information on Pessl, please visit www.pesslinstruments.com

About YARA
Yara's knowledge, products and solutions grow farmers', distributors' and industrial customers' businesses profitably and responsibly, while protecting the earth's resources, food and environment. Our fertilizers, crop nutrition programs and technologies increase yields, improve product quality and reduce the environmental impact of agricultural practices. We foster a culture that promotes the safety of our employees, contractors and societies. Founded in 1905 to solve emerging famine in Europe, today, Yara has a worldwide presence, with close to 13,000 employees and sales to more than 150 countries.

www.yara.com

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