Spraying for powdery mildew can be ~25% of the cost of farming a vineyard and be one of the key elements of a grower’s carbon footprint. Sarah Placella, Founder and CEO of Root Applied Sciences, has taken her deep research in microbes and created a data-driven solution to monitor the air for mildew and spray only when needed. Root can cut ~5 sprays per season, and growers have an average 5x ROI using the system.  Detailed Show Notes: Root Applied Sciences (“Root”) - airborne pathogen monitoring for farmers, like an “early warning system”Founded in 2018, 1st work with/ growers in 2021Powdery mildew (“PM”) is a big problem for vineyards in CA (March - August)Currently only markets to vineyards, done work with/ strawberries, leafy greens, can do anything with/ DNA and small insectsNapa, Sonoma, Central Coast todayHW enabled SaaS model - Root owns and maintains devicesDevice in the field, just above the canopySend data (battery status, device status, temp, humidity) to the cloud over LTEM connectionSW to see the dataThe grower collects samples from devices 2x/week and sends them to the labGrowers can share data with/ each otherHas an automated prototype in processWill not need a grower to collect and send samplesFundraising “seed” round for an automated system~25% of operational costs are spent managing PM6-16 pesticide applications/seasonConventional growers have fewer applications, but spend more for each oneOrganic may be spraying every weekPM takes 7-10 days to enter plants. See 2 peaks of PM before growers can see it, once PM exists, it's hard to controlRoot can cut 20-80% of sprays (~5 sprays/season), lengthens spray intervals when low risk~$100/acre spray cost per application, ~$300/acre if need to spray by hand (e.g., steep slopes)2024 - saw PM on Mar 29 in Carneros, growers planned 1st spray 4/16, moved up 1st spray to 4/2; cut sprays and more clean fruitRoot data enables more biological sprays (have shorter efficacy windows, are more environmentally friendly, and data gives more confidence to try them)Other benefits of RootClean fruit - faster fermentation (5 days faster), higher quality, possible increase in yieldsEnvironmental (less sprays, tractor use) - less diesel use, lower soil compaction; for 1 grower, 1 spray is a 13% reduction in carbon footprintFarmworker health - fewer chemicals in the airPricing$3,000/season/monitoring station all-inAvg grower has 4 stations, 1 every ~30-50 acresPrecision growers or rolling hills, 1 station every ~10 acres~5x ROIBarriers to adoptionRisk aversionNo access to a carrier to send samplesGrape prices down (budgets)More adaptive sprays can make operational scheduling harder for vineyard management companiesOther PM solutions“Spray and pray” (~90% of growers) - calendar-based systemWeather-based tools don’t work well and may be impacted by climate changeSpore trapping tools (e.g., spinning rods, roto rods) have sticky material that reduces sample size and efficacy, UV light exposure degrades PMImage-based analysis (new) - lots of data to send, samples ~2L air/min vs 400L air/min Root, does not specify type of PM present (~40 types)Product roadmap - more power efficiency, integrating a solar panelHas done work with/ downy mildew, botrytis, vine mealybug, and can detect them, but does not add a lot of valueExcited about growth in microbial mildewcides (biologicals) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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