Plantix Explained

Plantix is a mobile crop advisory app for farmers, extension workers and gardeners. Plantix was developed by PEAT GmbH, a Berlin-based AI startup.^[1] The app is capable of diagnosing plant damages (caused by pests, diseases or nutrient deficiencies) based on digital images of symptoms. It then suggests pesticides and herbicides and connects users with local sellers of these inputs, taking a commission on app-generated pesticide sales. Since its inception, the start-up's founders and employees have claimed that Plantix reduces the use of environmentally harmful pesticides—a claim that is increasingly being challenged due to the company's industry-dependent business model and the lack of robust evidence to support the claim.^[2]

History

PEAT GmbH launched the Plantix app in 2015.^[3] In April 2020 PEAT acquired the Swiss-Indian startup Salesbee.^[4] The company has been featured in major media outlets such as BBC, Fortune, Wired, MIT technology review and Nature.^{[5] [6] [7] [8]} It has also been awarded with the CeBITInnovation Award and the USAID digital smart farming award and the Worlds Summit Award, by the United Nation.^{[9] [10] [11]}

Collaborators

Plantix cooperates with international research institutes and inter-governmental organizations such as ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for Semi-arid Tropics), CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) and CABI (Center for Agriculture and Bioscience International).^{[12] [13] [14] [15]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Schiller . Ben . 21 September 2017 . Machine Learning Helps Small Farmers Identify Plant Pests And Diseases . 22 March 2018 . fastcompany.com.
2. Miller . Stephen Robert . This App Set Out to Fight Pesticides. After VCs Stepped In, Now It Helps Sell Them . 2024-10-27 . . en-US . 1059-1028.
3. Web site: 'Eine App für den grünen Daumen'. Rollenhagen. Isabell. 2 July 2015. 19 February 2021. 14 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210614191315/https://www.haz.de/Mehr/Bauen-Wohnen/Garten/Eine-App-fuer-den-gruenen-Daumen. dead.
4. Web site: Plantix expands market reach through acquisition of the Swiss startup Salesbee Startupticker.ch | The Swiss Startup News channel. www.startupticker.ch.
5. Web site: 'Tell me phone, what's destroying my crops?'. Madslien. John. 13 October 2017. bbc.com. 22 March 2018.
6. Web site: Die App Plantix erkennt kranke Pflanzen. Haak. Steve. 31 March 2017. wired.de. 22 March 2018.
7. Web site: The Business of Climate Change. Bansal. Manju. 26 July 2016. technologyreview.com. 22 March 2018.
8. Germany's start-up scene is booming. 25 November 2020. Nature. 10.1038/d41586-020-03319-9 . 10 December 2020 . Conroy . Gemma . Parletta . Natalie . Woolston . Chris . 587 . 7835 . S106–S109 . 227175373 .
9. Web site: 1. Platz: Plantix. 2017. cebitaward.de. 22 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180712215247/https://www.cebitaward.de/de/1-platz-plantix-1760.html. 12 July 2018. dead.
10. Web site: U.S. Data-Driven Farming Prize Awards $300,000 for Innovative Agricultural Solutions in Nepal. Jackiewicz. Zofia. 8 September 2017. datadrivenfarming.challenges.org. 22 March 2018.
11. Web site: Plantix - An easy plant disease diagnostic & monitoring tool. 2017. worldsummitawards.org. 22 March 2018.
12. Web site: Mobile App to Help Farmers Overcome Crop Damage. 25 May 2017. icrisat.org. 22 March 2018.
13. Web site: Nepal Seed and Fertilizer Project. 2016. cimmyt.org. 22 March 2018. 23 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180323072002/http://www.cimmyt.org/project-profile/nepal-seed-and-fertilizer-project/. dead.
14. Web site: CABI trials PEAT's smartphone app Plantix that identifies plant pests in the field. 2018. cabi.org. 22 March 2018.
15. Web site: AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu Launches Mobile App For Farmers In India. Jain. Samiksha. 26 May 2017. indianweb2.com. 22 March 2018.