Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The world's population is growing, increasing food demand far beyond arable land availability, so producers need a way to increase their yield using current acreage. Low-cost methods to increase yields in the reality of changing environmental stress is critical to agriculture production, and new economical and environmentally friendly seed priming techniques can provide this increase despite changing climate and environmental conditions.It is widely understood that getting crops started earlier helps them compete with weeds. Higher germination rates result in more uniform stands, which has been shown to have a 9-22% increase in crop yields, increasing producer profitability without increasing land requirements. GNI's Directed Energy Seed Priming (DESP) technology provides a way to increase germination rates and hasten emergence of seeds, seamlessly integrating with existing practices without adding labor or having any environmental impact.This proposal is centered around determining the technical viability of an aftermarket upgrade kit for the integration of DESP into a commercially available planter. GNI will also further quantify the market potential of a DESP-enhanced planter, and the impacts such a product will have on farmer productivity and profitability. By the end of this project, GNI, with the support of collaborator CNH Industrial (CNH), will have verified the feasibility of a DESP aftermarket upgrade kit for a commercially available CNH planter, at the specified power levels and targeted price and profitability points. The specific objectives to achieve this are:1. Design DESP prototype,2. Validate DESP prototype with field trial,3. Refine DESP row-unit design into full-planter commercial implementation, and4. Disseminate findingsPhase I will provide a detailed design of a commercially viable product, ready to be used for soybeans. Seed priming on row crops with DE holds the promise of sustainably increasing output from each acre by 5-10%, providing a broad societal benefit of increased food security, and the adoption of more sustainable farming practices. With the U.S. soybean market being on the order of $50B, if soybean output could be increased by 5%, the proposed effort holds the promise of boosting U.S. agricultural output by over $2B/year for domestic soybean producers, representing a tremendous return on investment for the project.With the results of Phase I, GNI, its collaborators, and the broader ag research community will understand the effectiveness of DE seed priming and its viability as a scalable solution. The outcome will stimulate follow-up research into other crops where priming would be of significance. Phase II will expand research across full growing seasons to better understand the potential and test across other commodities.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
50%
Developmental
50%
Goals / Objectives
This proposal is centered around designing an aftermarket upgradekit for the integration of DESP into a commercially available planter. The technical viability ofon-farm, field-scale, mobile deployment of the technology as a seamless integration onto existingplanting equipment and processes (technical feasibility) has not yet been established. GNI mustalso quantify the market potential of a DESP-enhanced planter, and the impacts such a productcould have on farmer productivity and profitability (commercialization feasibility).1. Design DESP (directed energy seed priming) prototype: Design a mobile DESP solution, in the form of an aftermarket retrofitkit. Demonstrate feasibility by installing prototypes for a specific planter currently in the market.2. Validate DESP prototype with field trial: Plant a test soybean crop with the DESP prototype tovalidate proper operation, and measure results to quantify the benefit of the DESP treatment.3. Refine DESP row-unit design into full-planter commercial implementation: Refine andoptimize the design at a retail sales price that is commercially attractive for all stakeholders.4. Dissemination of findings: Disseminate research findings among relevant stakeholders
Project Methods
Technical approach: This proposal is centered around designing an aftermarket upgradekit for the integration of DESP into a commercially available planter. The technical viability ofon-farm, field-scale, mobile deployment of the technology as a seamless integration onto existingplanting equipment and processes (technical feasibility) has not yet been established. GNI mustalso quantify the market potential of a DESP-enhanced planter, and the impacts such a productcould have on farmer productivity and profitability (commercialization feasibility).Role of proposed research: The role of the research is to determine the feasibility of anon-planter DESP system through prototype design and testing, prepare a design to scale thetechnology into a full planter implementation for further research, including across othercommodity types, and share findings to spur further innovation.