To reduce water consumption and improve crop quality, Mutti, a European leader in the tomato derivatives sector, has started an experiment with the Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism of the National Research Council (IMEM-CNR) using the Bioristor. This innovative sensor, applied directly to the stem of tomato plants, monitors the health of plants in real time, analyzing physiological processes and communicating with farmers thanks to photovoltaic energy and IoT connection.
“Global agriculture, which accounts for 70% of the planet’s freshwater consumption, faces increasingly pressing challenges due to ongoing climate change. Rising temperatures and decreasing rainfall make it crucial to adopt new technologies to address the water emergency” declares Massimo Perboni, Director of Mutti's Agricultural Service. “The Bioristor offers an unprecedented opportunity in our industry to monitor and optimize the use of water in our crops, helping to ensure the quality of our products in an increasingly efficient and responsible way.”
Bioristor, already successfully used for monitoring kiwis, vines and apple trees, was used in 2023 in a trial at the Stuard Company in Parma. The results showed that, even in conditions of extreme drought, Bioristor is effective in improving water use. Thanks to an artificial intelligence-based irrigation protocol developed by IMEM-CNR, it was possible to reduce water consumption by 45% compared to traditional methods. Despite a slight drop in gross yield, a significant increase in Brix – an indicator of tomato quality – and product compliance was observed.
“The experimentation conducted by Mutti and IMEM-CNR highlights the potential of the technology to improve the efficiency of agricultural resources, such as water, and increase the sustainability of the sector.He declares Michela Janni, researcher at IMEM-CNR. "The Bioristor, together with the artificial intelligence algorithm, represents a step forward in precision agriculture, allowing to maximize irrigation efficiency and obtain high quality production even in adverse conditions.”
The goal, already for the next campaign, will be to further refine the tools and the algorithm to ensure optimal management of water resources in agricultural fields and then expand its use on a large scale, thus helping to promote greater environmental and economic sustainability in the agricultural sector.
