Cleaner Tech
Glow-in-the-Dark Soybeans Will Help Farmers Fight Fungus
- Deere, Syngenta, InnerPlant are teaming up on the project
- Light will be early warning of fungal diseases in crops
This article is for subscribers only.
Two of the world’s biggest farm companies are collaborating for the first time in an effort to stomp out fungal diseases in crops. Their new innovation will mean that plants will be genetically engineered to emit a fluorescent light, warning of the fungi invaders.
Deere & Co., the top farm machinery maker, is teaming up with seed producer Syngenta AG and seed startup InnerPlant on the project. Deere’s See & Spray technology can detect the fluorescent light, and then the plants can be treated with a Syngenta fungicide designed for early applications. All this will be designed to take place weeks before the disease potential would’ve been detected by the human eye.