Precision Farming for Fruit Growers
At a recent meeting of the West Midlands Top Fruit Discussion Group, Hutchinsons Horticultural Technical Manager Dr Jonathan Blackman took the opportunity to speak about Precision Farming and what it can mean to top fruit growers.
Jonathan opened the discussion by defining Precision Farming as varying any aspect of management within the field to improve soil fertility, the efficiency of fertilisers, field or crop protection use and/or crop yield. “Some may also see it as the use of automated systems to reduce or eliminate human interference and therefore improve efficiency and profitability. My view is it is a blend of those things.”
“Precision Farming has five main areas of interest, starting with reducing input costs, by improving field efficiency of operations and so improving gross margins. Secondly and importantly it must improve yields, through targeting inputs and evening out yields across the field. Then it should manage variability by establishing an even crop where input efficacy can then be enhanced. Environmental benefits associated with reduced or better targeted or timely nutrition must also come into the equation. Finally Precision Farming looks to improve machinery performance by making operations more reliable, less variable or costly and by using technology for improved accuracy and timing.”
Oliver Wood is Hutchinsons Precision Technology Manager and comments that the field cropping sector has widely accepted the benefits of machine automation which have become standard features on many machines. “For example RTK systems used in vegetable production work down to + or – 2 cm, using GPS satellites and ground stations to optimise guidance performance. Variation in an arable field is measured through soil type and nutrient maps, yield maps, historic crop data and the grower’s own knowledge and experience. In addition, live crop data from satellite imaging, tractor mounted crop sensors and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, commonly called ‘drones’). More sophistication comes with electro-conductivity soil scanning and multispectral imagery. Irrigation can be optimised through mapping soil types, and using this information to optimise the positioning of soil moisture probes together with electronic valves to apply variable amounts of water.
But there are many exciting development for fruit growers, too. At the meeting, Dr Blackman explained that there are plans to work with the new Hutchinsons Omnia nutrient decision and precision farming support system in fruit this year. “Omnia is a new software system, three years in development, which can be used for whole field or precision applications. It offers multi-layered decision making by importing multiple sources of data including Gatekeeper and by being able to analyse these layers. It is already being used successfully in arable crops and we are compiling the fruit data parameters now with the aim to offer the system to fruit growers later this year.”
Another exciting new Precision Farming tool, this time exclusively for fruit growers, is Omnia Fruit Vision. “This is a system that can accurately count and grade apples and provide yield analysis in situ. Using a forward speed of between 6 and 8 km, Fruit Vision takes 20 images per second and calculates yield and sizes of apples to 95% accuracy. It provides the information that allows intelligent and informed decision making by the top fruit grower.”
Jonathan points out that Fruit Vision could be used earlier on to pinpoint thinning requirements in the orchard. “Later on it assesses crop yields and predicts storage volumes required. It gives the size bands accurately in situ, so assisting the sales desk with marketing plans. It helps with accurate calculation and location of bins at picking. It is an advanced multi layered management approach, satisfying many intricacies of Precision Farming.”
Currently Omnia Fruit Vision is being evaluated in New Zealand, having been demonstrated to fruit growers in the West Midlands, Kent and East Anglia in 2014. The system will be verified early this summer, with limited availability prior to harvest 2015, and with a full service planned in 2016.
