What started as a bid to deter pests from crops has ended up as a potential sustainable fertiliser.
With support from Agri-tech Centre as part of the Innovate project, growers will get access to R-leaf, a sustainable source of nitrogen.
Titanium oxide is a pigment used in paints, particularly useful in high refractive paints or bright whites. Crop Intellect founder Apostolos Papadopoulos hoped to use the element to alter the pigment of crops as a form of pest deterrent, aphids flying right over.
Crop Intellect developed disruptive technology that captures atmospheric NOx pollutants (N2O, NO, NO2) and converts them to plant feed. The NOx pollution is broken down to nitrate and turned into a suspension concentrate solution that can be sprayed onto plants. Not only does it increased crop yield but also cuts the use of synthetic fertilisers and helps reduce air pollution.
Since N2O has a global warming potential of 265 times more than CO2, the reduction of N2O emissions is of utmost importance for this industry. By pursuing innovative technological solutions such as R-Leaf, a reduction of over 75% of N2O emissions could be achieved following wide-scale implementation.
The product can be used on a range of crops, typically at rates of 0.5 – 1.0 l/ha. For more information, visit: https://cropintellect.co.uk/products/r-leaf
