Basel, Switzerland: Syngenta has announced a collaboration agreement with Spiio, whose precision soil sensor technology and agronomic data is used by turfgrass professionals, irrigation experts, municipal parks and recreation departments, tree care companies, and landscaping professionals.

This collaboration unites the expertise of Syngenta and its portfolio of professional turf solutions with the cellular, wireless soil sensor technology from Spiio.

Together, they aim to help golf courses evolve toward a future of precision agronomy and data-driven decision-making that complements the existing range of tools and services from Syngenta.

“We are excited to collaborate with Spiio to bring this sustainable innovation, initially focused on the golf industry,” said Mike Parkin, Global Head of Professional Solutions at Syngenta, an Executive Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.

“Our combined strengths in technology and agronomy will enable turf managers to make smart agronomic decisions for a better golfing experience for their players, while providing hyperlocal soil data to complement existing weather and modelling services provided by Syngenta. This solution aligns with our vision of creating a more sustainable future for golf,” added Parkin.

The cellular, wireless Spiio sensors continuously monitor the soil moisture, temperature and salinity and stream data to a cloud platform, allowing turf managers to create more precise agronomic programmes across the course.

The Spiio technology simplifies hyperlocal data collection and analysis without time-consuming, manual measurements. It also complements existing Syngenta tools including precision weather forecasts, disease and insect models, as well as turf growth models. 

Spiio CEO Henrik Rosendahl said: “Once customers can access Spiio sensor data from their phone across the entire property, they can quickly identify areas of concern and receive notifications and agronomic alerts before conditions become critical.

“They can also track specific data trends over time and provide greater efficiency with better reporting and strategic planning.

“By collaborating with the Syngenta agronomic and research teams, we’ll be poised to create even more robust agronomic algorithms and recommendations in the future.”

Syngenta said the impact of this collaboration extends beyond golf to other professional turf and landscape industries including lawn care, sports turf and tree care.