News - Arvensis Agro

New fertiliser and biostimulant application technologies

5 August, 2024/in academic, Arvensis Agro general/by arvensisagro

Use of drones in precision agriculture

21st century agriculture is incorporating new technologies to meet the challenges ahead.

The use of drones enables precision monitoring and management of plantations as well as management decisions from sowing to harvesting.

The challenges of 21st century agriculture

Agriculture is the basic and fundamental pillar of human nutrition and of Civilization itself. It is also an irreplaceable source of raw materials, both present and future (Bioenergy).

‘At least once in a lifetime we will need a lawyer, a doctor or an architect, but three times a day throughout our whole lives we need a Farmer’.

It is thus clear that the challenges of Agriculture for the next century are, in fact, the fundamental challenges that Humanity must face in order to ensure its own future and viability.

The FAO identifies as the main challenges the growth of the world population, the shortage in the availability of labour and arable land, and the fulfilment of environmental requirements for sustainability and food security.

All of which leads agriculture to adopt more efficient and sustainable production methods, including the latest available robotization technologies such as the use of drones.

New advances and improved performance

Technology has advanced in the last few years, and nowadays there is equipment capable of lifting a greater load, with elements that provide a great versatility of uses (hyperspectral cameras, spraying systems for liquid chemical products and the application of solid products, etc.).

On the other hand, the new generations of batteries also offer greater autonomy, allowing the monitoring of large areas with a single flight plan.

Drones, due to their flexibility, capacity and affordable price, have become the most popular aerial platform and the one most widely used in technified farms.

Drones allow continuous monitoring of the crop by capturing images throughout its development. Data analysis, through integrated management systems, allows management decisions to be made from sowing to harvesting.

Early detection of anomalies allows early reaction and appropriate measures to be taken in the right time.

The analysis of seasonal data allows the measurement of spatial and temporal variability both within the plot and between plots of the same plantation.

All this information allows plantations to establish differentiated management areas based on knowledge of the crop itself, its rotations, soil type, yield data and irrigation management, allowing the reduction of production costs and the optimization of inputs such as fertilizers and phytosanitary products.

Some of the main applications of the use of drones in agriculture to highlight are:

– Characterisation of spatial variability in crop water status.

– Characterisation of the spatial variability of the soil.

– Characterisation of the phenotypic response of the crop.

– Characterisation of the vegetative state of the crop.

– Construction of 3D soil models.

– High precision applications (management of differentiated zones).

– Safety in agricultural operations.

– Early detection of pests and diseases.

– Plant counting to know the germination potential.

– Prescription maps for sowing doses, precision irrigation and variable fertilisation.

From Arvensis Agro we have developed a complete range of advanced biostimulants that are adapted to the new technologies of application by drone, among them are Biofertilizers based on microorganisms (FERTTYBYO, MYCROTTRON), Defense Promoters (LIGNOMIX, GLOPPER), Biostimulants (QUICELUM, SUGAR TRANSFER) and Advanced Nutrition products (TRIAMIN PLUS, RHIZUM, CRIPTHUM).

Past Tuesday 5th March 2024 a technical demonstration day for the use of drones took place at La Clorofilla farm in Mercato Saraceno (Forlì-Cesena), Italy.

Organised by Agrigeodron together with 2A ARVENSIS Italia and KOPPERT Italia, the theme of the meeting was ‘Smart technology for the agriculture of the future’.

A practical demonstration of the use of drones to distribute Biostimulants and Auxiliary Fauna was attended by more than thirty technicians and farmers from major reference plantations.

Ferttybyo and Orgaplant Organic assay in olive tree

23 July, 2024/in Assays/by arvensisagro

Agriculture has so far been one of the most important human activities contributing to the increase of chemical contaminants in the soil. This contamination was unavoidable because crops must be treated to avoid pests and achieve optimal production.
Read more

Quicelum assay in olive tree

22 July, 2024/in Assays/by arvensisagro

At Arvensis, we have dedicated years to innovation and the development of advanced formulas that allow plants to express their maximum potential. Within our product portfolio, one of the most prominent and long-established biostimulants is QUICELUM, a powerful plant development enhancer.

This agronomic trial focuses on the benefits and applications of QUICELUM, highlighting how this product not only improves crop yields, but also contributes significantly to field care and maximising benefits for farmers.

What is Quicelum?

QUICELUM is a bioactivator and stimulator of genetic potential, formulated on the basis of seaweed and seed extracts that promotes the hormonal balance of crops. It is a totally organic product of vegetable origin, with 0% residue.

QUICELUM maximises the efficiency of the physiological processes that regulate the absorption and translocation of nutrients, the use of solar energy in the formation of photosynthates, the movement of precursors from the source organs to the sink organs, etc. It also brings growth, sprouting, flowering, fruit set and ripening to their peak. QUICELUM revitalises the olive tree and increases the efficiency of photosynthetic activity.

QUICELUM is a non-hormonal biostimulator that promotes the plant to synthesise and store a wide and complete range of hormones, which will allow the genes to express themselves quickly and efficiently at each moment. In this way, each stage (flowering, fruit set, filling, etc.) can develop at the required time according to the stimuli and inputs. This allows each stage to be more complete and homogeneous in the tree.

Assay data

Crop	Super-intensive olive grove on loam and clay soil
Location	124 hectares of the Arbosana variety, located near Ervidel
Date	4th October
Surface	50 Ha treated 70 Ha control
Dose	QUICELUM at a dose of 1.5 l/1000 l of water and FORTIK SOLID at 3 kg/1000 l of water.

Important parameters such as fat content, fat/dry matter ratio, moisture and variability of olive size and weight will be analysed. The final objective of this trial is to quantify the economic impact of QUICELUM application on olive oil revenue per hectare.

From the beginning to the end of the trial, there were no changes in the work routine on the farm.

Experimental procedure

The Quicelum trial was divided into two plots, one on clay soil and one on loam soil. Fortik Solid, a potassium and sulphur-based product, as well as a fungicide and an insecticide, were applied on all plots.

Before applying the products, 100 olives taken at random from all the plots were weighed and measured. Throughout the trial, the olives were weighed and analysed for fat, fat/dry matter and moisture content. The same random sample collection process was always used to maintain the reliability of the trial.

At the end, the samples were collected plot by plot and transported separately to the mill. The quantity in kg of olives and kg of oil was then recorded.

Results and analysis

For a trial to be as useful as possible, we must always link the results to the reality of the field, of the olive industry and of the economic profitability of a business activity.

An increase in the value of the fat yield in our crop does not always mean that we have more oil in our trees; sometimes, it can only mean that the olives lose water despite not storing more oil; this, for example, occurs in a state of over-ripeness in which freshness, aromas, flavours, etc. have been lost.

On the other hand, the weight of our olives can increase, without necessarily increasing the amount of oil we take to the mill. For example, it is common that after a September storm the olives swell with water, which will increase the weight, but the yield will decrease as the amount of oil inside the olive will be the same as before the rain.

QUICELUM offers a complete solution that adapts to the field:

It improves flowering and fruit set, which translates into an increase in the number of olives per tree.
It favours cell multiplication and thickening, which leads to an increase in the weight of the olives.
By improving photosynthetic efficiency, it boosts the biosynthesis of fatty acids, thereby increasing fat yield.

Figure 1 shows the quantity of oil produced in 100 olives. In the QUICELUM treatment, on both types of soil (loam and clay), the quantity of oil in the fruit increased during the entire evaluation period (between 17 October and 14 November). In contrast, in the control treatment, the quantity of oil in the fruit increased during only part of the evaluation period (between 17 October and the first days of October).

Figure 2 shows that, with reference to the measurement on 14 November, QUICELUM increased the weight of the olives by 18.9% compared with the control in loam soil and by 14% in clay soil. The weight of the olives in the loam soil was greater than in the clay soil.

Olive production increased dramatically with the application of QUICELUM (Figure 3). QUICELUM increased olive yield by 1690 kg/ha on loam soil and 517 kg/ha on clay soil: 14.1% increase on loam soil and 3.9% increase on clay soil.

QUICELUM increased oil yield through higher olive production and higher fat yield: fat yield with QUICELUM was 16% (loam) and 16.1% (clay) compared to 15.8% and 15.7% for control.

Without QUICELUM application, the differences between soil types were remarkable, predictably due to a higher water and nutrient storage efficiency of the clay soil: in clay soil, olive yield was 10.1% higher than in loam soil (data for controls); oil yield was 9.4% higher in clay soil.

ARVENSIS AGRO S.A.
Carretera Castellón Km 226,9 Polígono Prydes
50720 La Cartuja · Zaragoza · SPAIN
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