Spensa Technologies announces advanced insect trapping technology that could replace manual crop scouting

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Spensa Technologies, a Purdue-affiliated precision agriculture technology company, announces Z-Trap 1, the company's first fully commercial hardware device intended to reduce costly and time-consuming manual crop scouting.

The new commercially available hardware product can seamlessly integrate with the Spensa AP, Spensa's comprehensive agronomic platform, to allow growers and agronomists to record pest data and keep track of lure life from a smartphone or browser. The technology also shows visualization of pest populations geographically so changes can be monitored over time.

"After years of testing and perfecting the Z-Trap 1, we are incredibly proud to introduce the product to the ag industry," said Johnny Park, founder and CEO of Spensa Technologies. "Spensa is on a mission to create novel technologies that will radically revolutionize the industry and foster environmental responsibility. We believe the Z-Trap 1, in addition to other technologies we are developing, represents a giant leap toward achieving this goal."

Z-Trap 1 provides advantages over manual trapping, including reduced labor costs and real-time monitoring for more precise timing of insect flights. In collaboration with agricultural researchers, Spensa began field-testing the trap in 2010, and has tested more than 300 traps in fields across the United States, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand. Z-Trap 1 includes new features such as a cellular modem and changes to the bioimpedance sensor and detection algorithms to improve catch rate and reduce susceptibility to false positives.

For more information Spensa's Z-Trap 1 and other innovative pest management technologies, or to view current career opportunities with the company, visit www.spensatech.com.

About Spensa Technologies Inc.

Spensa Technologies was founded in 2009 in the Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette. Spensa's mission is to develop a network of industry-leading devices and innovative technologies to better manage agronomic pests such as insects, weeds and disease. The company strives to reduce reliance on manual labor, foster eco-friendly farming and enhance crop production to help feed the world. Spensa gathers high resolution data, models that data to reveal insights, and clearly presents our findings to help agriculturalists make the most informed decisions possible. For more information, visit: www.spensatech.com. 

Contacts:

Teresa Weirich, Spensa Technologies, 317-730-6105, teresa.weirich@spensatech.com

Cynthia Sequin, Purdue Research Foundation, 765-588-3340, casequin@prf.org