Latest innovation in fruit research at Fruit Focus 2023

Visitors to Fruit

Focus on 12th

July

in

East Malling, Kent

were able to explore cutting-edge research and innovation projects, funded to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the fruit sector.

Growing Kent & Medway, Innovate UK and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) all joined forces for the rst time at this year’s Fruit Focus.

Some of the projects on display included:

• Fotenix Limited: Integrating advanced camera hardware, 3D multi-spectral and laserdot technology, and AI services to enhance UK food production (Innovate UK)

• Machere Ltd: Identifying organic liquid fertilisers for aeroponic systems (Growing Kent & Medway)

• Air-seq: A revolutionary technology developed by Earlham Institute that uses DNA sequencing to provide early warning of airborne pathogens (BBSRC)

• University of Greenwich and NIAB, East Malling: Pheromone of apple saw y, developing new tools to manage a reemerging pest (BBSRC).

Free outreach programme launched NIAB launched a new free outreach programme for the fruit industry at the 2023 Fruit Focus event in Kent.

NIAB Fruit is designed to be a one-stop shop for the results of NIAB’s research projects, study tours, demonstration sites and best practice information, all available online at www.niab.com.

Growers have online access to the NIAB Fruit Annual Review, a portfolio of NIAB’s current fruit research projects, as well as dedicated webpages for its demonstration centres – the WET (Water E cient Technologies) Centre, the Plum Demonstration Centre and the Grape and Wine Centre. Best practice growing guidelines are available for apple and pear crops, along with useful updates on study tours and grower guidance on a range of topics. There are also links to NIAB fruit technical days, with recordings of the presentations made on the results of research projects.

Commenting on the new programme, NIAB’s knowledge exchange manager, Scott Ra e explained that with the loss of AHDB’s activities, NIAB understood that the fruit industry needed a new home for its wide range of information, advice, events and research.

“At NIAB, we are working hard to raise the pro le of our fruit research projects through our technical events, NIAB Fruit Annual Review, and press articles. However, with growers, agronomists and technologists nding it increasingly di cult to attend every event and to nd time to keep abreast of our work, knowing that they can nd all of this information in one place will help them to nd it quickly when the need arises.”

NIAB Fruit is freely available to everyone at www.niab.com

Research and development

Elsoms’ everbearing F1 hybrid strawberry range are bred by ABZ Seeds and have all been trialled in the UK. Elsoms has also been working on trials to improve the resilience of strawberry production. Pictured (l-r) are midlands and north west England vegetable specialist Andrew Vincent, crop specialist Claire Taylor, and marketing and communications executive Jake Wallis.

Plenty of interest

On the Kirkland stand, visitors were interested in the impressive Antonio Carraro tractor range, as well as the Orizzonti equipment which included pruning and cultivating machinery. The Air-Jet Berry Harvester – suitable for blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and blackcurrants - also garnered a lot of attention. Pictured (l-r) are administrator Hollie Kamel, marketing executive Tilly Shephard, company partner Scott Worsley and sales manager Ben Devine.

Latest agronomy advice

Chatting about the latest agronomy updates, as well as coir substrate Botanicoir were Agrovista technical manager Alex Radu, fruit agronomist Karen Morgan, agronomist Fokion Chatziavgerinos, fruit agronomist Simon Warren, and head of fruit Mark Davies.

Educating growers

At Fruit Focus this year, Omex’s UK-based team, including (l-r) Dr Neil Holmes, Richard Cameron and Joe Barfoot, were educating growers on the importance of in-feed water treatment through the use of DeSaltus 2.0, with trials from 2022 showing impressive results, as well as discussing SAP analysis.

Promoting woodlands to landowners

The UK’s largest woodland conservation charity, Woodland Trust, discussed its MOREwoods scheme with Fruit Focus visitors. Pictured are the charity’s Simon Miller and Josh Pastars.

Supporting crops

Talking fertilisers

Experts in controlled release and watersoluble fertilisers, ICL’s Andrew Judd explained that the company’s speciality fertilisers are designed to feed soft fruits grown in substrates as well as in the soil, with the range including control release fertilisers, fertigation with fully-soluble fertilisers and foliar feeding – allowing growers to choose the best nutritional regime for their crops. The company’s Vinemaster product was a particular talking point on the stand.

Hortifeeds’ specialist fertilisers and biostimulants are designed to support crops throughout every stage of development. The range of products include liquid, water soluble and granular fertilisers which are suitable for “any growing situation”, the company says.

Pictured are regional sales manager (north and west of England Ireland and Scotland) Paul Wright (left) and regional sales manager (south of England) Ben Dalton.

Extremely busy team with exciting announcements

The NIAB team were incredibly busy at the event, offering tours as well as announcing the new free outreach programme. Pictured (l-r) are: Tadd Robson, Scott Ra e, Emma Smith, Celine Xavier e Silva, Will Roberts, Tom Passey, Mitzi Else, Phoebe Carter and Geoffrey Lidell.

Making human workforce more productive

Cambridge-based technology start-up Dogtooth’s agship product is the autonomous fruit-picking robot, which was designed to make the human workforce more productive. At Fruit Focus, the team was actively promoting the fthgeneration strawberry-picking robot which, it claims, can pick delicate berry fruits with near-human visual acuity and dexterity.

Pictured on the stand are the company’s Ed Herbert, Natalie Tetusch, Duncan Robertson, Cat De Haes and Candy McGrevy.

Electric weeder

RootWave, the Warwickshirebased electrical weed control manufacturer

RootWave launched its rst tractor-powered machine for orchards, vineyards and fruit at Fruit Focus this year. The RootWave machine treats weeds in the rows of vines, bushes and trees using treatment electrodes, boiling them from the inside out.

Pictured are Jimmy Phillips (left) and Ed Phillips, who said that growers can reserve a machine now, with those rst in the queue able to secure delivery in spring 2024.

Improving irrigation efficiency

As well as chatting with visitors on the Sencrop stand, account executive Mark Herriman (pictured left, with UK sales manager Kelly Stevens) also spoke at one of the event seminars, providing advice on how growers can get the best out of their irrigation systems by keeping an eye on every element that has an impact on e ciency –evapotranspiration, solar radiation and temperature.

Innovative offering

As well as a range of machines suitable for top and soft fruit growers, the NP Seymour team were showcasing the innovative, fully-electric variable rate bene cial insect applicator on their stand at Fruit Focus this year. Developed in partnership with Bioline AgroSciences, the battery-powered Bio Applicator can be towed by a quad or any compact vehicle, and features a cooled hopper which prevents certain insects –mainly Phytoseiulus – from rising to the top when warm, thus keeping the natural pest enemies well mixed and making consistent application easier.

Looking for grower support

Fox Robotics’ innovative Hugo RT robot has been designed to operate in elds and polytunnels and has many uses, including delivering empty trays, collecting and weighing picked produce and transporting to mobile collection points. The company is now looking to raise funds for its commercialisation round and bring on expertise from the farming community. Fox Robotics’ hope is to work closely with individuals interested in novel technology and farmers who are open to implementing automation on their farm to help to improve e ciencies and productivity.

If you’re interested in investing in the future or want to give this novel technology a try, contact Fox Robotics business development manager Alejandra Acevedo –pictured on the right with Henry Acevedo.

Hands-on demonstrations

Agricare’s Charlton Worsley and Ross Worsley offered hands-on demonstrations at the event, including the Infaco F3020 electric pruners, as well as the Bellota cordless pruning and tying equipment.