Axia Vegetable Seeds, an innovative breeder of vegetable seeds, has purchased the Seedling Scan Pro from AgriData Innovations. This system performs usable plant tests, making time-consuming hand counts a thing of the past. In addition, it automatically stores photos of the trays which ensure that the usable plant tests are easily viewable.
The Seedling Scan Pro has been developed by Delft-based AgriData Innovations (ADI). ADI specialises in camera systems and image analysis software for monitoring crop growth and health. The interview below with Lidia Laan, responsible for Quality Assurance at Axia, details how the Seedling Scan Pro is used, the added value of the system and the experiences with ADI.
"Axia Vegetable Seeds is an innovative company that likes to look ahead and is open to modern technology", says Lidia Laan, responsible for Quality Assurance at Axia, when asked what challenges led them to consider the Seedling Scan Pro. "In addition, we want our usable plant test to generate germination rates that approach the real-life situation of plant nurseries as much as possible. A first count (7 days after sowing) is an important number for them. The Seedling Scan Pro has proven to be able to perform this first count properly."
After an extensive testing phase where the Axia team compared the Seedling Scan Pro's counts with their manual counts, they saw that these figures were getting closer and closer to each other. "The good guidance and constant communication with the people at ADI was also crucial."
Lidia adds it is very useful that the Seedling Scan Pro can classify the seedlings, so not only if it is germinated or not germinated, but also abnormal and small plants are identified separately.
When asked how the Seedling Scan Pro affects efficiency and accuracy when counting and assessing seedlings, she says the Seedling Scan Pro is very user-friendly and easy to deploy. "Data collection is fast, as is data processing and conversion to ready-to-use figures for our Quality Database. The photos per tray are also very valuable to us."
All in all, the main improvement in the operation is the speed. "The machine evaluates much faster than manual counting."
"The AgriData Innovations customer support and service is excellent, results are shared quickly via an app and if there are any comments they are responded to quickly. We also have a shared WhatsApp group where communication is fast and to-the-point", she adds. "We're satisfied with the performance of our 'mechanical colleague'. The Seedling Scan Pro works fast and accurately, never grumbles and does not take long breaks."
For more information:
AgriData Innovations
06 13 29 55 13
[email protected]
www.agridatainnovations.nl
Axia Vegetable Seeds
Tel: +31 (0)174 255 255
[email protected]
www.axiaseeds.com