Location: Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection
Project Number: 8080-30500-001-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Feb 20, 2025
End Date: Feb 19, 2030
Objective:
Objective 1: Develop resilient and scalable production practices, and products to reduce abiotic and biotic impacts in temperate fruit production.
Sub-objective 1.A: Develop sensitive behaviorally-based monitoring practices for internal fruit-feeding pests.
Sub-objective 1.B: Develop scalable management practices for persistent native and invasive arthropod pests using border-driven pest behavior.
Sub-objective 1.C: Generate new knowledge of apple abiotic stress tolerance associated with rootstock genotypes and virus status.
Sub-objective 1.D: Develop new knowledge on tree and fruit physiology, pest and disease susceptibility and optimized cultural practices for novel Super Sweet nectarine selections and economically important apple cultivars.
Objective 2: Generate new knowledge and develop new technologies for resilient production in post-harvest storage and controlled environment systems.
Sub-objective 2.A: Evaluate UV-C or far UV treatment for Alternaria fruit rot, brown rot, and arthropod pests of small fruit.
Sub-objective 2.B: Evaluate biocontrol agents for control of fruit rots on pome fruit.
Sub-objective 2.C: Evaluate pear genotypes for susceptibility to postharvest rots.
Objective 3: Develop cost-effective AI and autonomous technologies for quantifying key production metrics and plant phenotyping traits.
Sub-objective 3.A: Develop automated tools to detect pest movement more accurately in the environment and to distinguish and quantify both target and non-target pests captured in pheromone-baited traps.
Sub-objective 3.B: Develop computer vision and/or robotic plant and/or insect phenotyping systems including segmentation and measurement modules.
Sub-objective 3.C: Develop low-cost and open-source tools and technologies to further data-driven agricultural production systems and their research.
Objective 4: Generate new knowledge on orchard production carbon utilization and sequestration.
Sub-objective 4.A: Determine the carbon footprint of establishing a newly planted high-density apple orchard; contribution pools will be classified, and strategies for carbon footprint reduction will be identified.
Sub-objective 4.B: Develop recommendations for data-driven decision support systems for orchard management of water resources for reductions in water use, maintenance and improvement of fruit yield and quality.
Approach:
Here, we propose to conduct research aimed at mitigating challenges generated by invasive and persistent native pests, emerging and persistent phytopathogens, climate impacts on tree health, regulatory changes, labor shortages, rising production costs, and global markets. In Objective 1, we will develop resilient and scalable production practices, and innovative products to reduce abiotic and biotic stresses in temperate fruit production. In Objective 2, we will generate new knowledge and develop novel and adaptable technologies for resilient production in post-harvest storage and controlled environment systems. In Objective 3, we will develop cutting edge, cost-effective artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous technologies for quantifying key production metrics and plant phenotyping traits to improve production systems and breeding programs, respectively. In Objective 4, we will generate new knowledge on orchard production carbon soil dynamics and innovative, data-driven water management tools. These interconnected research technologies and knowledge products will enable the industry to sustainably grow and store high quality temperate fruit both economically and ecologically, contributing to the longterm vibrancy of this agricultural enterprise.
