UK: Research funding allows b-hive to deliver deeper insights for apple growers
UK-based B-hive Innovations has joined forces with UK premier fresh fruit grower Adrian Scripps Ltd to attract Innovate UK research funding aimed at accelerating agricultural innovation.
The 12-month project will allow apple growers to obtain greater insights into the size, count and variability of their fresh produce at the point of harvest, allowing data-driven decision on crop usage.
The research project will enable a significant extension of the capabilities of B-hive’s flagship technology HarvestEye, which already provides crop-level sizing insights to potato and onion farmers.
The project is being co-led by head of machine learning at B-hive, Dr Mercedes Torres Torres, and James Simpson, managing director at Adrian Scripps, with preliminary work underway to test a range of produce varieties.
Mercedes said: “At B-hive, our objective is simple - to empower growers with the tools they need to deliver long-term, sustainable growth by increasing marketable yields and reducing waste. This has been proven for a number of years now with potato growers, who trust our technologies to deliver better forecasting of their root crops.
“It is exciting to be expanding the technology to operate with other fresh produce. This doesn’t come without its challenges, and we’ll need to undertake some modification to both the hardware and software of the system to ensure it is accurately producing the results we require for the world of fresh produce.”
Image: Getty/Diana Miller
