Precision pollination research led by the James Hutton Institute and AgriSound will use in-field sensors and artificial intelligence to monitor pollinator activity across fruit crops. The project aims to help growers identify pollination gaps and support fruit breeding for improved yield and quality.
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Researchers will use in-field sensors and artificial intelligence to connect pollinator activity with fruit set, marketable yield and quality.
Researchers are developing a precision monitoring system to help fruit growers identify pollination gaps and determine when intervention may be needed.
Successful pollination is essential for fruit set, quality and marketable yield. However, growers often rely on visual observations and standard hive recommendations to evaluate pollination levels.
Greater weather variability, changing pollinator populations and differences in pollinator activity among production sites can make those assessments less reliable.
Drawing on its expertise in crop genetics, plant breeding and pollination science, the James Hutton Institute will work with AgriSound to examine how pollinator behaviour affects fruit production and how plant traits could improve pollination outcomes, according to a press release.
Dr Susan McCallum, Soft Fruit Geneticist and Breeder at the Hutton, said, “We are excited to be working with AgriSound on this innovative project, combining cutting-edge technology with data-driven insight to better understand pollination and its impact on soft fruit productivity. This collaboration has the potential to deliver valuable, real-world insights that will help growers and breeders make more informed decisions and build a more resilient and sustainable future for fruit production.”
Monitoring Pollinators Across Fruit Crops
The project builds on AgriSound’s Precision Pollination platform, which uses Polly bioacoustic sensors and artificial intelligence to monitor pollinator activity in crops.
The partners will expand the system to monitor honeybees, bumblebees, solitary bees and hoverflies across strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and cherries.
“Pollination is mission-critical to fruit production, but it is still too often managed through assumption. Our goal is to make precision pollination scalable across crops and useful as a day-to-day production tool,” Dr Casey Woodward, CEO of AgriSound, said.
Connecting Pollinator Activity With Crop Performance
Validation studies will combine acoustic monitoring with smart-tag observations, time-lapse imaging, environmental monitoring and crop performance assessments.
The resulting data will be used to improve pollinator-detection algorithms and examine how pollinator activity differs among crops and production systems.
Researchers will also investigate the relationships between pollination activity, fruit set, yield and fruit quality. These findings could give growers clearer evidence for identifying inadequate pollination and adjusting crop-management practices.
Supporting Pollinator-Friendly Fruit Breeding
The project will also examine how flower characteristics and plant genetics influence pollinator attraction and pollination efficiency.
Hutton researchers will use the findings to support the development of fruit varieties that combine commercially valuable traits with improved attractiveness to pollinators.
The work could ultimately help growers and breeders develop more resilient production systems while supporting the long-term productivity of the United Kingdom’s fruit sector.
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