Raleigh, NC and St. Louis, MO – October 30, 2014
Today Benson Hill Biosystems, The Photosynthesis Company™, and PrecisionHawk, a leader in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remote sensing, announced a plan to collaborate on the application of PrecisionHawk’s aerial imaging platform for the analysis of crop photosynthesis in the field and for the prediction of crop performance and yield.
“Increased crop yield is the most important trait in modern breeding and agricultural biotechnology,” said Tom Brutnell, CSO of Benson Hill Biosystems. “Today, however, it is still a challenge to monitor relevant photosynthetic parameters of crops in the field and to correlate those data with crop performance and crop yield. Genotype by Environment (GxE) interactions are complex under varying field conditions and novel technologies are required to untangle the problem. We believe that coupling PrecisionHawk’s UAVs and remote sensing platform with our deep expertise and focus on crop photosynthesis, physiology, and yield will help unlock the complex question of how photosynthesis affects crop productivity under field conditions, and ultimately accelerate modern breeding and agricultural biotechnology.”
“UAVs are changing the way businesses approach crop research by providing a way to collect aerial data cheaper and more efficiently than ever before,” said Christopher Dean, PrecisionHawk CEO. “The success of remote sensing-based phenotyping and modeling will depend on a clear understanding of crop physiology and environmental factors, and better aerial information will allow us to further understand the cause and effect relationships of crop development. This is a huge step forward in promoting innovative solutions across the agricultural industry.”
About Benson Hill Biosystems:
Benson Hill Biosystems is an agricultural biotechnology company focused on the development of traits to increase intrinsic crop yield. The company employs an integrated, systems-based approach to trait discovery and validation, and has developed a robust pipeline of next-generation trait candidates. Benson Hill and its partners are dedicated to addressing the foremost challenge in sustainable production agriculture – boosting crop yields on existing acreage and with limited inputs.
More information can be found at www.bensonhillbio.com.
About PrecisionHawk:
PrecisionHawk is an unmanned aerial systems and remote sensing company founded in 2010. The company provides an end-to-end solution for aerial data gathering, processing and analysis to provide actionable information to clients across a wide range of civilian industries. The team is comprised of professionals with backgrounds in remote sensing, unmanned aircraft operations, software development, data processing and GIS systems development. The company operates out of offices in Indianapolis, Ind., Raleigh, N.C. and Toronto, Ont.
More information can be found at www.precisionhawk.com.
