The solution measures pollinator activity in crops to improve pollination efficacy and increase yields
Agricultural pollination specialist BeeHero has announced the launch of the upgraded version of its Pollination Insight Platform (PIP) in-field sensing solution, which measures pollinator activity in crops to improve pollination efficacy and increase yields.
According to BeeHero, PIP 2.0 features expanded pollinator identification, enhanced sensor design, advanced monitoring capabilities, innovative heat map technology, and comprehensive field coverage to provide precise, real-time data-driven insights and predictive models for growers.
”Approximately 75 per cent of major food crops depend on pollinators, with bees the most vital among them,” the group noted.
”Consequently, effective and efficient pollination is a cornerstone of sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, and future global food security.
”Leveraging its proprietary sensing technology, BeeHero monitors the frequencies of bees in the field to determine the rate of pollinator visits, thereby allowing growers to assess the effectiveness of pollination, identify potential issues, and take proactive measures to improve results,” it outlined.
BeeHero said the PIP 2.0 in-field sensing solution now offered first-of-its-kind, high resolution heat map technology, which monitored bee activity in the field in real time, providing growers with ”unprecedented and invaluable” insights into pollination progress.
The solution replaces traditional, manual methods of in-field data collection, allowing growers to identify preferred foraging times and varieties; to access real-time bee activity; to assess the relationship between hive numbers and quality, spacing, and orchard activity; to monitor the ratio of bee visits to male and female rows of crop flowers per minute; and to build predictive models for yield and pollination success, particularly for seed production and cross-pollinated crops like almonds, blueberries, and more.
Additionally, PIP 2.0 can identify a wide range of pollinators, including leaf-cutter bees, hover flies, carpenter bees, bumblebees, and honeybees.
“PIP 2.0 represents a transformative step forward in agriculture technology,” said Omer Davidi, CEO and co-founder of BeeHero. ”It not only provides growers with unparalleled insights and control over their pollination processes, but also catapults BeeHero’s database of bee activity – the largest such database in the world, already fuelled by the 25M in-hive samples collected daily by BeeHero – to new heights.
“BeeHero is consistently pushing the boundaries of innovation to support both growers and beekeepers,” he added. ”By continuously advancing our sensor technology and real-time data analytics, we are empowering them to optimise yields, reduce labour costs, and enhance the sustainability and profitability of their operations unlike ever before.”
The PIP 2.0 platform is now operational across the US, Israel, France, the Netherlands, Australia, and South Africa.
It has expanded its application to monitor and optimise the pollination of diverse seed crops including onions, carrots, watermelons, radishes, apples, blueberries and raspberries.
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