MagGrow and AMBER announce a third research project to push the boundaries of innovation in crop-spray technology for sustainable farming

27 April 2021

AMBER, the SFI Centre for Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research hosted by Trinity College Dublin (TCD) is collaborating on a third project with MagGrow, an Irish SME based in Dublin, specializing in magnetic-assisted agricultural spraying.

The third collaborative project between AMBER and MagGrow will build upon previous projects that have yielded important results into the magnetic field effects upon spray performance. The third project acts as a platform to gain further insight into the MagGrow effect, opening up new areas for research and development.

MagGrow’s technology can reduce spray drift by more than 70% compared to conventional spraying technologies – which is highly beneficial for environment and people. By targeting the plant canopy and creating the ideal droplet size, pesticide run-off is minimised, and chemical costs for farmers reduced while yield stays high. In the MagGrow system pesticides pass through a magnetic field at a specific rate of flow so that the resulting spray-fluid has a droplet profile that targets the plant canopy, and results in reduced spray drift and run-off.

The overall goal of the third jointly funded project with AMBER is to generate further information on the magnetic effect attributed to the award-winning MagGrow spray technology.  Extensive test and control rigs at CRANN Research Institute at Trinity and in the field, will conduct detailed droplet formation and flow tests using innovate techniques to maximise data capture. The year’s work will also investigate the impact that various water parameters, such as hardness and temperature, has  on spray nanobubble technology at a new lab scale test rig in Trinity.

MagGrow’s engagement in a third project with one of the world’s leading authorities on magnets and magnetism, Prof. Michael Coey FRS, demonstrates the SME’s ongoing commitment to innovation through research and development. The project will enable MagGrow to explore and exploit science to create innovative solutions to global challenges of food security and environmental degradation through sustainable agricultural practices. The very detailed scientific information derived through this study will provide MagGrow with the foundational theory to optimise existing products and develop the technology for other applications.

Prof. Michael Coey, AMBER and School of Physics, Trinity College, said: “We are delighted to enter our third project with MagGrow. It truly has become a joint endeavour, particularly with the recent appointment of Dr Karl Ackland, a former member of our TCD team, to MagGrow. The opportunity to extend our engagement with MagGrow in this project is exciting. Our aim is to use innovative and detailed analysis to test our hypothesis in the lab and in the field, which will contribute to optimizing current technology and opening up new avenues for the development of technology that could prove vital for feeding everyone on Earth in the coming years.”