Talpo, the new technology, aims to enhance vineyard, fruit, and olive tree production while cutting pesticide use by up to 40%, promoting farm sustainability and protecting natural resources
A cutting-edge device, integrated into agricultural machinery, will provide real-time analysis of crop growth and health, enabling early detection of diseases and nutrient deficiencies.
Designed for ease of use, the Talpo digital agronomist can be fitted to any tractor or agricultural vehicle, making it accessible to farmers regardless of their technical expertise.
Developed at BSC, Talpo's ability to boost crop yields could contribute to meeting the UN’s goal of a 60% increase in food production by 2050.
The Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) has created a new spin-off, Talptech, with the aim of democratising precision agriculture and boosting crop sustainability and natural resource protection. By exploiting the Talpo technology developed at BSC, Talptech will analyse crop growth in real time, allowing pesticide and fertiliser doses to be adjusted to the needs of each plant, detect diseases or nutritional deficiencies in early stages and estimate crop yields. The first prototype has shown a reduction in pesticide use of up to 40%.
The technology transferred by BSC to its spin-off Talptech combines artificial intelligence methods that emulate the functions of an expert agronomist with the use of supercomputing architectures to support farmers' decision-making. It is based on a simple and intuitive graphical interface, designed to be easily used by any farmer regardless of their technological knowledge.
Real-time crop information
Talpo comes in a kit consisting of cameras, an advanced computing unit, GPS and cloud communication. The device can be easily installed on tractors, quads or other types of agricultural vehicles, providing real-time alarms and information on intensive crops such as vineyards, fruit and olive trees, allowing each plant to be characterised individually.
BSC researcher Eduardo Quiñones, creator of the technology and founding partner of Talptech, highlights the potential that this disruptive device offers to all farms, regardless of their size and farmers' technological knowledge. By allowing pesticide and fertiliser doses to be adjusted to the natural variability of crops, the Talpo digital agronomist offers better characterisation and planning of agricultural production, thereby improving the economic and environmental sustainability of farms.
"Our technology analyses and identifies relevant crop variables in real time as an expert agronomist would and sends them to the cloud, providing valuable crop information. Real-time analysis allows us to apply the right dose of pesticide and fertiliser, according to the needs of each plant, as well as early detection of diseases and nutrient deficiencies and other essential aspects for efficient and sustainable crop management," Quiñones said.
More production and savings of up to 40% in the use of pesticides
During 2024, a first prototype has been validated with several trials in vineyards, olive, almond and apple trees, which have demonstrated savings of up to 40% in the use of pesticides and fertilisers, offering significant economic benefits to producers and environmental benefits to society.
This positive impact, reflected in a reduced carbon footprint and the production of healthier food, is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the European Commission's guidelines on agricultural management, which are committed to improving the protection of natural resources while ensuring a high level of production.
In this regard, the United Nations forecasts that by 2050 it will be necessary to increase crop productivity by 60% to meet the demand for food due to the global population growth. Yield improvements made possible by new precision farming tools such as Talptech can help achieve this goal, while the reduction in fertiliser use can reduce the adverse effects of pesticides on consumers and the environment.
Talptech expects to make the first commercial sales in the Spanish market in 2025 and that by 2026 and 2027 the technology will have reached sufficient maturity to enable it to make the leap to the global market.
BSC spin-offs
Since 2016, the BSC has created thirteen spin-offs that have generated more than 220 highly skilled jobs and raised more than €30M in venture capital from local and international funds. All BSC spin-offs are headquartered in Barcelona. Some of the founders are BSC researchers who have decided to devote part of their professional careers to these start-ups. The BSC has minority stakes in all its spin-offs and has licensed more than 30 technologies so that these new companies can exploit them in the market.