The research

The AP19003 Project is conducting physiological studies and developing the capabilities of sensing tool technologies in the Sundial apple orchard at Agriculture Victoria’s Tatura SmartFarm and on a commercial orchard in Ardmona (Goulburn Valley). At these locations, experiments and trials are conducted to:​

• Determine relationships between fruit position and light exposure on colour development, sunburn damage, fruit quality and floral initiation.​
• Identify chemical signals that determine the impact of high crop load on floral initiation and differentiation, and fruit size in the subsequent season.​
• Develop a rapid orchard assessment tool using a ground-based mobile sensing platform equipped with LiDAR and optical cameras (Green Atlas Cartographer™) capable of objectively measuring fruit size, fruit colour and tree size, and advising crop load distribution in an orchard.​

Access the AP19003 Information Sheet