Fredericton-based Picketa Systems has raised C$2.1 million in an oversubscribed financing round to expand its real-time crop nutrition platform across North America and add support for more crop types.

The round was led by Tall Grass Ventures of Calgary. New investors, the company said in a blog, included BDC Seed Fund, Verdex Capital and Skull Diamond & Heart Capital. Existing investors New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, Koan Capital and East Valley Ventures also participated.

Picketa said the funding will be used to increase manufacturing, deployment and customer support for its LENS (Leaf Evaluated Nutrient System), a portable device that measures plant nutrient levels in the field in less than a minute. The results are uploaded to the company's Fieldbook platform, allowing growers and agronomists to adjust fertilizer applications during the growing season.

The company said growers using the system could reduce in-season fertilizer costs by as much as 20 percent. It cited rising fertilizer prices, saying costs have increased 49 percent, while 70 percent of U.S. farmers cannot afford all the inputs they need this season.

More than 45 agricultural retailers are using the LENS platform to support fertilizer recommendations for their customers, according to the company.

Picketa also announced that the platform now supports soybeans and wheat in addition to potatoes, corn and canola. The five crops account for more than 70 percent of North American crop acreage, the company said.

Earlier this year, Picketa was selected as one of five companies for Farm Credit Canada's Agriculture Innovation, Validation and Adoption Network. The technology will be evaluated at four validation hubs across Canada.

The company has also collaborated with researchers at the University of Guelph, University of Missouri, University of Nebraska–Lincoln and Cornell AgriTech to develop the nutrient models underlying the platform.