Articles
Precision crop load management of apple using digital technology
Article number
1395_34
Pages
257 – 266
Language
English
Abstract
Precision crop load management is a suite of strategies and machines to manage the number of fruits tree-1 to exactly the economic optimum.
We have developed a series of strategies that include precision pruning guided by computer vision, blossom thinning guided by a pollen tube growth model, post bloom chemical thinning guided by a carbohydrate balance model and a fruit growth rate model aided by computer vision and finally hand thinning guided by computer vision.
At each step in the process of reducing fruit bud load, flower load or fruitlet load, we are developing computer vision and other digital technologies to streamline the counting of buds, flowers and fruitlets.
Our preliminary results show that: 1) we can digitally count fruit buds and use the information to guide precision pruning to leave a pre-determined flower bud load; 2) we can apply sequential chemical thinning sprays guided by the use of computer models to adjust the dose and timing of chemical application and to assess the effect of the chemical sprays shortly after application to inform re-application; and 3) we can digitally count fruitlets to guide human workers to leave an exact number of fruits tree-1 when hand thinning.
We have developed a series of strategies that include precision pruning guided by computer vision, blossom thinning guided by a pollen tube growth model, post bloom chemical thinning guided by a carbohydrate balance model and a fruit growth rate model aided by computer vision and finally hand thinning guided by computer vision.
At each step in the process of reducing fruit bud load, flower load or fruitlet load, we are developing computer vision and other digital technologies to streamline the counting of buds, flowers and fruitlets.
Our preliminary results show that: 1) we can digitally count fruit buds and use the information to guide precision pruning to leave a pre-determined flower bud load; 2) we can apply sequential chemical thinning sprays guided by the use of computer models to adjust the dose and timing of chemical application and to assess the effect of the chemical sprays shortly after application to inform re-application; and 3) we can digitally count fruitlets to guide human workers to leave an exact number of fruits tree-1 when hand thinning.
Authors
T.L. Robinson, L. Gonzalez Nieto, Y. Jiang, M. Miranda Sazo, C. Kahlke
Keywords
Malus × domestica, fruit size, crop value, chemical thinning, pruning, computer vision, hand thinning
Groups involved
- Division Temperate Tree Nuts
- Division Vine and Berry Fruits
- Division Temperate Tree Fruits
- Division Precision Horticulture and Engineering
- Division Plant-Environment Interactions in Field Systems
- Division Tropical and Subtropical Fruit and Nuts
- Working Group Precision Management of Orchards and Vineyards
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