Muju Earth's Aeropod Bursts Open to Aerate Soil

Muju Earth has built a fingernail-sized device that aerates soil on its own, without machinery or robotics. The Aeropod is planted alongside seeds using the same equipment, so growers do not need to till the field first.

Once in the ground, the device bursts open in response to a combination of temperature, pressure, and moisture. That action loosens the soil and creates channels for air, water, and roots.

The company has tested the Aeropods in lab settings and is starting paid field trials in the UK this fall with nine farmers. More than 30 others are on a waitlist. Its first target market is UK onion growers, because onions are especially sensitive to soil compaction.

Cost is a central part of the pitch. Tilling a field once can run around £250 to £400 per hectare, while Muju Earth expects Aeropods to deliver similar results at about £100 per hectare.

The Aeropod was developed by co-founders Ifeoluwa Afolayan and Wangyang Hu during their time at Imperial College London. Muju Earth is one of 200 startups selected for this year's TechCrunch Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco in October, as reported by techcrunch.com.

Companies working on biologic soil amendments have also expressed interest in pairing their products with Aeropods. Afolayan says most marketing so far has been inbound, with farmers leading adoption.