B-hive Innovations has partnered with Adrian Scripps Ltd to secure Innovate UK research funding, focusing on agricultural innovation in the UK. The project aims to enhance apple growers' understanding of their produce's size, count, and variability at harvest, facilitating informed decisions on crop usage. This initiative marks an expansion of B-hive's HarvestEye technology, previously aiding potato and onion farmers with crop sizing insights, to now include fresh produce like apples.
Dr Mercedes Torres Torres and James Simpson are leading the project, which has already commenced preliminary testing on various produce varieties. The collaboration seeks to adapt HarvestEye's hardware and software to meet fresh produce requirements, aiming to provide accurate, actionable data for growers. Simpson highlighted the necessity of this technology for meeting retailer demands for specific apple sizes and counts.
The integration of apple size and counting features into HarvestEye is planned for the 2024 harvest season, following extensive testing initiated in late 2023. This research is not only a milestone in HarvestEye's development but also aligns with B-hive's strategy to venture into new agricultural sectors. HarvestEye technology, known for delivering precise root crop insights during harvest, is set to evolve with the inclusion of fresh produce, offering subscription, rental, and lease options to a broader range of growers.
Source: agritechtomorrow.com