Projects Yielding success

Yielding success

The Australian Table Grape Association will help facilitate the uptake of new technologies for growers this year as part of an AgriFutures Australia grant.

The table grape industry was awarded $20,000 in round 2 of the AgriFutures Producer Technology Uptake Program, which promotes the adoption of new technologies within agriculture.

ATGA industry development manager Jenny Treeby said the project would allow the industry to conduct yield estimation on 10 producer properties in the Greater Sunraysia region.

“The use of machine vision is well established in horticulture for crop regulation, however, uptake of this technology has not been applied in table grapes locally yet,” Jenny said. Imagery capture will provide bunch and vine specific data, scanning every grape and bunch in 20 different table grape patches at least once during a growing season to confirm or correct bunch trimming and bunch thinning practices.

"The benefits of a project like this are that producers will gain detailed information about part of their property so they can better target their bunch removal activities, identify weak spots within their growing systems through yield mapping, increase returns by optimising yield and be able to forecast more accurately, as well as compare the cost-benefits across a range of vineyards,” Jenny said.

Growers will also have access to an ongoing community of practice (CoP) for innovation that will further extend the knowledge gained and attract more innovative solutions into the industry.

Jenny said the system would provide participating growers with the means to adjust production methods to enhance lower performing areas, increasing certainty across the board.

“Ultimately, the activities would not only improve the financial bottom line but can also be used to rationalise water and fertiliser inputs, use of agrichemical sprays, and seasonal labour force,” she said.

The trial will take place over the 2022/23 season. More information will be provided to growers as it becomes available. v