SASKATOON — It’s been a very busy summer for Tayab Soomro, co-founder and CEO of Saskatoon-based PathoScan. Soomro and co-founder/chief scientific lead Ethan Done created a pathogen test kit that can provide lab-quality results for producers in a matter of hours, instead of the traditionally longer timeframe of up to two weeks.
Since the spring, PathoScan has taken their test kits to fields across the province in order to truly see how the system would work out in the wild.
“This year’s field trials went really well,” Soomro said. “We conducted over 70 tests, primarily in Saskatchewan, though we also received interest from other parts of the prairies like Alberta and Manitoba, which we’re excited to explore next year. It was great to see how well PathoScan performed in real-world conditions. Generally, the tests worked just as expected. Our customers saw the benefit of this right away, and we were able to make sales.”
Through those trials, Soomro and Done can continue to fine-tune their technology. Recent greenhouse trials have also been a source of valuable information for the PathoScan team.
“We learned a lot about how different operations work between row crops and greenhouses,” Soomro explained. “Each has its own approach and varying tolerance for false negatives (i.e., misinformation). Understanding these differences has been incredibly helpful in tailoring our solutions to better meet the specific needs of each type of operation. This experience has led to some tweaks to the product, making it even more efficient and reliable for producers.”
Between 20 and 25 per cent of global crop production is lost annually to preventable plant diseases, which have a very diagnostic window. Currently, producers can bring a sample to a lab, but results are measured in days and weeks through that method. What Done and Soomro realized was how shrinking that timeline and bringing the lab to the field was important. Their result was a rugged, easy to use kit small enough to bounce around in a pickup truck and quick enough to provide results in about two hours.
“As for the greenhouse trials, we’re just getting those underway,” Toomro said. “The pathogen problem in greenhouses is critical and in dire need of a tool like the PathoBox due to the moist conditions. We’ll be working closely with one of our early adopters—a greenhouse producer, and conducting disease testing with them from transplantation to harvest to figure out when diseases emerge and the best time to control them.”
Next year will be another round of field trials, where producers from right across the prairie provinces are welcome to participate.
“Once we wrap up the greenhouse trials, we’re planning to open up for more field trials next year,” Toomro said. “We’d love to have more producers involved and are already planning to reach out for participants soon.
International possibilities
and online presence
Soomro was recently meeting with investors in the UK, noting that the overseas market shares the same level of enthusiasm as found closer to home.
“There definitely is a chance,” he said when asked about expanding to the international market. “We’re still validating our technology, and we’re going to be doing it in Canada for at least a few years. It’s definitely important to have early conversations, and so we did that, so ultimately, that’s definitely something that we’re considering.”
Expanding to outside markets would not be a huge leap for PathoScan’s technology. Soomro pointed out that there are common plant diseases found in both the UK and Canada, but the strains are different.
“For example, club root is one of the devastating pathogens for canola,” he explained. “It has different pathotypes even within Canada—the club root that you see in Eastern Canada is different than the one that you see in Western Canada. So there’s definitely different pathotypes, and we will definitely expect to see those differences.”
PathoScan has also recently made their test kits and accessories available online through their website (pathoscan.com), currently on reduced pricing.
“That’s one thing that is still in the works,” Soomro said. “We currently have a person that’s revamping our website to make the messaging correct, and things like that. But yes, ultimately, that’s the goal, that farmers would be able to purchase it right from their homes. We’re trying to incentivize farmers to get it early and get the benefit of their tests very early, but at a very steep discount.”
As with any business, financial resources help speed up development, and PathoScan currently has a Crowdfundr campaign with a $50,000 goal. Money raised from crowdsourcing will be split between material investment, continued research and development, and funding additional trials.
“We’re really hoping that these funds will help us do more outreach and do more developments in the R&D so that we can bring the prices down for trials and bring the device out to many people,” Soomro said. “That component is there, but we’re also looking for funding as well through our investment partners.”
Winter will not slow the PathoScan team down as they—like Saskatchewan producers—prepare for another growing year.
“We’ve brought on two new advisors who will help strategize our business development and financial aspects,” Soomro said. “We had our initial in-person meeting in the UK during my trip, which was really productive. We’re also in the process of securing additional funding to ramp up our unit production and expand our business development beyond Saskatchewan into other critical regions.”
Growers interested in signing up for a field trial can do so at pathoscan.com/signup.
