Scientists at Washington State University are joining forces with researchers, fruit growers, and technology companies in the Netherlands and Washington state to solve the major tree fruit challenges through automation and robotics of orchards.

On February 3, 2021, André-Denis Wright, Dean of the WSU College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resources Sciences, joined representatives from the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, Washington State Department of Agriculture. Washington, Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food. Quality, Wageningen University & Research and other partners in a virtual signing of the Fruit Orchard of the Future Collaboration Agreement.

The agreement helps establish a public-private consortium that accelerates new tree fruit technologies using an industry-developed concept called Next Fruit 4.0. It is part of a broader AgFoodTech collaboration between the Netherlands, California, and the state of Washington, which aims to bring innovations to market faster and meet high-level goals in health, sustainability and prosperity.

Automation and robotics could help fruit tree growers in the US and the Netherlands address the challenges of an increasingly hard-to-find orchard workforce, as well as increased demand for sustainability, environmental health and food security.

“Our college is proud and excited to partner with Washington tree fruit growers and our counterparts in the Netherlands to make new technologies a reality,” Wright said. “Globally, producers face many of the same obstacles. The practical solutions being developed through this international coalition hold promise for stronger, healthier and more efficient industries in both countries.”

"Technology deployment in orchards needs to accelerate to allow our state's fruit tree industry to remain viable and prosper over the next decade," said Ines Hanrahan, executive director of the Washington Fruit Tree Research Commission.

Additional partners in the agreement include the Dutch Fruit Growers Association, the Dutch technology association FME, Oregon State University and more than a dozen Dutch and US companies and organizations.

The Fruit Orchard of the Future collaboration aims to connect universities from both nations for joint programs, create a network of local field laboratories and testing grounds, establish exchanges for education and research, connect companies and producers, and generate access to the foundership.

Participating scientists will develop prototypes that include a robot for pruning and harvesting pears, a precision sprayer for fruit crops, sensors and algorithms for collecting data on apples and pears, and decision models for apples and pears based on collected data and expert knowledge.

WSU Associate Professor Manoj Karkee, a Prosser specialist in field robotics and automation, said the partnership will help develop expertise and knowledge from a variety of perspectives, while also making the team of scientists more competitive for funding. of American and European research.