Ecoation and Vivent have signed a partnership agreement to bring a real-time crop stress monitoring to the North American market.
To further the partnership, Vivent has installed real-time crop sensors at HORTECA, a North American Horticultural Technology Center & Academy (HORTECA). The 2-acre Demonstration and R&D facility is located in Ruthven, Ontario, right in the heart of the biggest greenhouse production cluster in North America.
Equipped with the latest commercial growing technologies (AI controlled climate computers, air management technology, precision lighting, Ecoation’s AI & Robotic IPM forecasting and crop assessment solutions, and now Vivent’s real-time crop sensors), the center will showcase advanced existing technologies in the market and also develop future platforms that address automation, labor shortages, quality management, and residue-free production. Vivent’s plant and data scientists will work alongside Ecoation’s R&D team, JEM farms’ growing team, and other experts, to optimize HORTECA’s operations.
“We are looking forward to demonstrating how real-time alerts can help growers optimize climate conditions and diagnose pests and disease before visual symptoms appear, says Carrol Plummer, Co-Founder, and CEO of Vivent. “Timely and improved scouting increases yields and improves fruit quality. Monitoring JEM’s crops in Horteca provides a great opportunity to investigate the influence that very high humidity in Ontario has on crop stress, especially in the summer,” she notes. “By combining data from Ecoation and Vivent with deep expert knowledge from JEM’s growers, we will learn how to reduce crop stress within a few minutes of it occurring.”
“Controlled environment agriculture is the answer to the growing world population and climate change induced limitations that negatively affect the food supply chain,” states Dr. Saber Miresmailli, Founder and CEO of Ecoation and Chairman of HORTECA. “There is no doubt that technology will play a prominent role in solving this very serious issue in the near future. Technology that is designed without the proper insight and influence of experts will not be successful at scale. The unique advantage of HORTECA is the deeply practical and commercial knowledge of its founders and their proven track record of food production at scale.”
Paul J. Mastronardi, Director of JEM Farms and HORTECA President, continues: “The horticultural industry is transforming, and many solutions and technologies exist in the market with a diverse range of offerings and functionality claims. To properly test their capabilities, one must use them under commercial settings and conditions. HORTECA is built to provide that opportunity.” He continues: “The Center and Academy will generate knowledge and know-how along with technology platforms that can positively improve decision making and address major issues going forward.”
Upon completion of the initial demonstration trial, Vivent will present the results and findings with the grower community in Canada at an upcoming Ecoation Jamboree, an educational series designed by the Ecoation Academy that brings the latest technology information and knowledge to the horticultural community. In addition, Ecoation will also commercially distribute Vivent technology in North America through its expanded network.
“Canada has introduced many ground-breaking technologies and solutions to the world that positively impact the lives of millions of people; from Insulin, wheelchair accessible buses to peanut butter says Dr. Miresmailli. “The country’s best minds are getting together in HORTECA to solve yet another major issue that impacts humanity as a whole: Clean, sustainable, and nutritious food production. We are bringing the best solutions from all over the world to HORTECA to test and demonstrate their capabilities and present factual information about them to the community,” says Dr. Miresmailli.
For more information:
Vivent 
+41 76 285 1472
www.phytlsigns.com
www.vivent.ch