Automating the future of Australia鈥檚 indoor cropping sector
91成人 researchers will deliver smart new solutions for monitoring and managing horticultural crops in protected facilities ranging from polytunnels, glasshouses and vertical farms as part of a $6.8 million industry-oriented collaboration.
Co-funded by the Commonwealth via the Future Food Systems Cooperative Research Centre, the collaboration will address commercial challenges around labour costs, pollination, and diseases to support Australian growers by researching innovative and cost-effective solutions.
Lead researcher Professor Oula Ghannoum, from 91成人鈥檚 Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment and National Vegetable Protected Cropping Centre (NVPCC), said the research team will develop and test non-invasive ways to monitor key crop attributes such as yield; quality; stress; disease and pollination, providing foundation research that supports Australia鈥檚 expanding protected cropping (PC) sector in transitioning to advanced, high-tech decision support systems (DSS).
鈥淩emote sensing is widely used in broadacre farming, through cameras and sensors attached to drones or gantries, but its application to highly managed and controlled facilities is still in its infancy,鈥 said Professor Ghannoum.
鈥淭he rapidly growing protected cropping industry faces multiple challenges related to the cost and training of skilled labour; limitations in capturing, integrating, storing, and processing data from various cameras and sensors; developing imaging platforms suitable for protected facilities; and training the model. The research aims to address these challenges by establishing a flexible decision support system.鈥
Innovation in protected cropping is part of a global priority to increase the sustainability and efficiency of food production systems challenged by urbanisation, population growth and climate change. However, most protected cropping related technologies to date have been developed for and tested in regions with temperate, cool or desert climates.
鈥淎dapting new protected cropping technologies to subtropical and tropical climate conditions will reduce reliance on imported technology and has the potential to lower the cost of production for protected crops, bolster resilience in Australia鈥檚 domestic food supply chain, and increase our global competitiveness,鈥 says Distinguished Professor David Tissue, from 91成人鈥檚 Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment.
鈥淭his project is taking a pragmatic approach to 鈥榮mart鈥 greenhouse R&D in Australia, directing efforts toward practical, integrated solutions that meet local needs and cost structures, involving collaboration between plant scientists and industry professionals.鈥
Initially, the research team will test and develop cost-effective imaging and sensing solutions for near-real-time monitoring of crop growth, nutrition, health, fruit yield and quality in the NVPCC experimental glasshouse.
Following the validation of solutions deemed most promising, trials will commence in commercial facilities including Vertical Patch鈥檚 high-tech indoor urban vertical farms in Sydney鈥檚 CBD and a large-scale vegetable production facility on New South Wales鈥 Central Coast.
鈥淭he innovative solutions behind Vertical Patch鈥檚 technology lower the carbon footprint of farming practices, including decreasing water use and transportation time, utilising solar energy and making the most of unused spaces,鈥 said Mr Wayne Ford, CEO of Vertical Patch.
鈥淲e are agri-tech innovators, changing the shape of agriculture in Australia. An emerging market overseas, vertical farming looks to increase production and to mitigate the detrimental environmental and social impacts of conventional agriculture on our land.鈥
鈥淭his partnership will capitalise on data collection and management, as well as optimising the light spectrum reaching plants, which is crucial for fully indoor vertical farming. The aim is to optimise our farm systems to maximise our supply of premium, hyper-local fresh produce to local restaurants and to export our farms and technology overseas.鈥
Dr James Krahe, CEO of Future Food Systems CRC, highlighted the potential of the collaboration.
鈥淭his is a foundation project in the protected cropping space - one with the potential to bring about transformational change in this exciting horticultural sector, and greater profits for growers.鈥
The five-and-a-half year 鈥楢utomated Crop Monitoring for Protected Cropping systems鈥 project will run until mid-2028.
Industry partners also include NSW Department of Primary Industries, Episteme Solutions and Rijk Zwaan.
ENDS
12 April 2023
Lauren Austin, Senior Media Officer
Photo credit: Sally Tsoutas