Sentera Launches Closed Beta for Field-Edge Plant Population Analysis

MINNEAPOLIS, April 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sentera is excited to announce the launch of its closed beta for field-edge Plant Population Analysis, available through its AgVault™ Software platform. Plant Population Analytics assess where plants are and are not growing, calculates an emergence measurement, and visually represents results with a colored heat map. The new tool addresses a fundamental issue the agriculture industry faces: producing accurate in-field emergence estimations as early and as efficiently as possible. Early and accurate plant estimates enable agronomists, crop consultants, and growers to make replant decisions during critical growth stages which help positively influence yields.

"We want to help our customers take action while in the field, as soon as possible, and this closed beta does just that," remarked Kris Poulson, vice president of agriculture for Sentera. "Giving growers instant, field-edge insights about which plants have emerged and which have not helps them make informed replant decisions and determine if the best course of action is to dig up, chemically kill, or interseed areas with limited or no plant growth."

In-Field Analysis
Producing an emergence heat map in the field is seamless and easy for participants in Sentera's closed beta. Users simply scout a field using a drone-based sensor, upload the data into AgVault, identify crop specifications, select a boundary to analyze and press "go." AgVault quickly performs algorithms to produce a color-coded Plant Population Analysis map of the respective boundary, and the result is instantly delivered to the user in AgVault. All of these features are available at the field edge without an internet connection or upload, and to AgVault web and cloud users once the data is uploaded.

"Showing customers where they have plants and where they don't for every section of a crop – with field-edge immediacy – helps improve forecasting, yield, and accounting models," said Reid Plumbo, director of product management for Sentera. "The launch of this beta is especially relevant this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, and we are eager to partner with users to prove out our Plant Population Analysis capability, gain insight, receive feedback, and make the tool even more robust."

Expanding Crops
The closed beta focuses on V4-V6 stage corn, with additional crops in development.

What's next?
Sentera is rolling the emergence capability out to a selected group of AgVault customers. If you're a customer and are interested in learning more or participating, please contact Sentera at [email protected]

About Sentera
With over 220 years of combined experience with sensors, software, and drone system development, Sentera is a leading supplier of complete data solutions to the agriculture industry, making it easy for users to bring in-field data off the farm for further analysis. In a single growing season, Sentera's equipment gathered over 175 terabytes of data from 8,000 flights. The company achieved a milestone of collecting more than 25,000,000 acres of images. For more information, visit www.sentera.com.

Media contact information: Sarah Ritzen, 952-242-9245, [email protected]

SOURCE Sentera