b"Dominic Levesque analyzing samples that were taken during the 2021 growing season in the Picketa lab. PHOTO: PICKETA SYSTEMSSaving Time on TestingTime is paramount when testing potato crops before spraying and fertilizer applications, which is what Picketas new product is all about.BY: ASHLEY ROBINSONFOR THEIR FINAL engineering project, four University of NewGrowers liked petiole tests at first, they liked the data, Brunswick students decided to help potato growers save time bybut it took so long to get the data back that it didn't really fit shortening lab test time. their workflow well, Dumont explains in a Zoom interview. The four engineering studentsMaxime Dumont, DominicWe did the research. And the product we made combines an Levesque, Zachary Andersen, and Xavier Herbert-Couturieroptical sensor and machine learning to estimate the nutrientall come from different backgrounds. Dumont had grownconcentration in potato plants.up on a cattle farm, Levesque was a fifth-generation potato farmer, Andersen had previously been a wildland firefighter and Herbert-Couturier hadworked as a software developer. Growers liked petiole tests at first, As the four pooled their ideas in the fall of 2021 for their final project, they quickly realized they wanted to create a remotethey liked the data, but it took so long monitoring product to help farmers. Through Levesquesto get the data back that it didnt experience growing up on a potato farm and a summer jobreally fit their workflow well. working at NutriAg, he knew there was demand in the potato industry for a product that could combine remote monitoringMAXIME DUMONTwith plant analysis.Over the course of their final school year, they created their company Picketa Systems and product, which does real time plantPicketas product requires for a petiole sample to be taken tissue analysis. Traditionally petiole sampling is an expensivein field. Its then brought back to an office where the plant is and time-consuming process. It requires petioles to be manuallyscanned into Picketas computer program, which instantaneously collected from fields and sent to a laboratory for analysis reveals potato nutrient levels. Picketa is working on developing which in the case of New Brunswick growers the closest lab is inanother tool which will allow for infield scanning and analysis, Ontario. Results are then received in about a week. with field tests to start in 2023.30SPUDSMART.COM Summer 2022"