November 2022 - 8

Cal Poly strawberry research: Can robots kill pests?
By Chris Koger
Managing Editor
The Cal Poly Strawberry Center's
Sixth Annual Field Day saw its biggest
attendance yet, keeping on track with
the increased participation every year
since the inaugural event.
The 2022 event in late July, however,
Researchers at the Cal Poly Strawberry Center are studying the effects of UVC light
on strawberry pests. This autonomous equipment from TRIC Robotics applies the
light on strawberry plants at night, and the cumulative effects of multiple doses of
the light kills certain pests. Photos: Cal Poly Strawberry Center
marked a return to pre-COVID norms
after it was canceled in 2020 and
changed to a hybrid gathering in 2021.
Although organizers expected more
than 300 people rotating through the
automation, entomology and plant
pathology stations throughout the day,
more than 440 visited the Strawberry
Center to learn more about the research
conducted there.
" Attendance has been steadily
growing each year; last year we
had about 325, " said Julie Tillman,
communications and accounting
coordinator at the center.
Gerald Holmes, director of the
Cal Poly Strawberry Center, said the
research presented during the field
days hasn't been shared with growers or
other industry stakeholders.
" They all come for different reasons.
Some come to network, and others to
get the details on the latest research, "
Holmes said. " We never present
something we featured last year or stuff
that we've presented in other places.
That, I think, is a big draw. "
The three main subjects -automation,
entomology and pathology - each have
hot topics of high interest to the industry.
" There's always something exciting
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in automation, " Holmes said. " In the
entomology program, we had predatory
mite best practices and using UVC light
for arthropod management. And on the
pathology side, people want to see how
the varieties are performing against the
fruit rots, and we had some interesting
new results looking at the color of the
plastic and irrigation through drip tapes
as it relates to Macrophomina fruit rots. "
Automation is here - and
getting better
Several companies were on hand to
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showcase their robotic field equipment.
Advanced Farm Technologies Inc.,
which recently raised $25 million from
an investment round, touts itself as the
first U.S. company to commercialize
robotic strawberry harvesting. In
2019, the company's harvester was
used to harvest berries, and a number
of companies, including Naturipe
Farms, the Oppenheimer Group and
GoodFarms, have used the TX Robotic
Strawberry Harvester.
The harvester drew a lot of attention
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during the field day, as the picking
arms on its underbelly hovered over
the strawberry beds, jerking around
as sensors targeted the next " berry "
(actually, red golf balls depicted the
fruit) for its grippers to pick. Visit
advanced.farm/technology/strawberryharvester/
to see a video demonstration.
" They're out there now, harvesting, "
Holmes said, as growers work with
Advanced Farm Technologies on
adjustments to improve performance.
" The equipment works, but it's a
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question of 'to what degree does it
work?' " Holmes said. " Are they picking
without injuries (to the fruit)? "
At this time, such equipment seems
better suited to early in the season, before
strawberry plants grow and make the red
berries harder to find, Holmes said.
Shining a light on pests
Sarah Zukoff, entomology program
leader at the Strawberry Center, has
been working on using ultraviolet-C
radiation (UVC light) to eradicate
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November 2022

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