Plant stress management, a key objective for Domaine des Mattines

Domaine des Mattines, a leading Swiss tomato producer, is particularly focused on plant stress management using innovative technology in 2021. Jeremy Blondin, the sixth-generation leader of the farming family, has always believed that plant stress management is a key issue in producing fruit of superior quality and flavour while maintaining high yields.

In the past, the company has relied on in-depth knowledge passed down from generation to generation and on a highly qualified workforce. Blondin is now encouraged by new technologies that can provide quantitative measures of stress to support the judgment of key personnel.

"We will be testing several plant stress technologies throughout 2021," says Blondin. "At the end of last season, we used a PhytlSigns system for about six weeks. It showed us real-time stress levels before and after greenhouse operations that we had never been able to measure before. We also want to use it to manage irrigation and drought stress especially during summer. We're very excited about getting information from the plants for inclusion in our decision support systems." 

PhytlSigns is a commercial crop health diagnostic system based on plant electrophysiology. PhytlSigns uses AI to interpret signals linked to plant stress and diagnoses pathogens and pests prior to the appearance of any visible symptoms. 

"All plants use internal electrical, mechanical and chemical signalling networks to coordinate growth, reproduction and defence – and Vivent is the first company in the world to launch a commercial crop health diagnostic system based on plant electrophysiology," says Carrol Plummer, CEO of Vivent. "It is very important for us to have the active interest of innovative growers like Domaine des Mattines. Their leadership in technology and their involvement with the regional group of producers of the Office Technique Maraîcher allow us to adapt technology to the real needs of producers".