BASF and Ontera Inc. have announced a research collaboration to detect diseases and resistances in plants utilising Ontera’s molecular diagnostic platform. Ontera’s platform reportedly analyses and quantifies multiple characteristics in under 20 minutes, allowing farmers to tackle potential yield issues and threats to their harvest before they take hold. The platform uses silicon nanopore single-molecule sensors for multi-plex measurement of nucleic acids, proteins and small molecules. It then produces a quantitative analysis of traits, pathogens and pathogen resistance and is able to be used in the field, avoiding potentially time-consuming laboratory procedures.