{"id":39846,"date":"2025-05-09T12:32:47","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T12:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stella-pss.eu\/?p=39846"},"modified":"2025-05-09T12:39:30","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T12:39:30","slug":"kiwi-research-tackles-apple-challenges-with-european-collaboration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stella-pss.eu\/de\/kiwi-research-tackles-apple-challenges-with-european-collaboration\/","title":{"rendered":"Kiwi Research Tackles Apple Challenges with European Collaboration"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\"\"<\/i><\/span>By Armin Werner<\/a> 
<\/i>Principal Science Advisor<\/i>
Lincoln Agritech<\/a><\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

New Zealand\u2019s horticultural sector, particularly its globally significant apple industry, faces ongoing challenges in maintaining fruit health and quality. Addressing these concerns often requires new approaches and strategic partnerships, such as those that Lincoln Agritech has formed within the STELLA project.<\/span><\/p>

STELLA research uses advanced digital technologies to develop and implement enhanced plant health management, including early disease detection, comprehensive territory surveillance, and effective phytosanitary measures. When preparing the project proposal, STELLA contacted New Zealand colleagues who also work in this digital area. As a result, the project now includes apple production, creating a win-win situation for the European project consortium and New Zealand\u2019s horticultural research and development efforts.<\/p>

For Lincoln Agritech\u2019s researchers, the project has established a valuable collaboration with international researchers at leading European universities and research organisations. It has also fostered new and beneficial connections with European industry stakeholders and aims for similar interactions with companies in New Zealand. For the European researchers, it has created a counter-seasonal research ability.<\/p><\/div>

\"\"<\/p>

Figure 1: Harvesting apples by hand.<\/em>
Source: Paul Sutherland Photography<\/em><\/p><\/div>

FOCUS ON APPLES<\/strong><\/h5>

The groundwork for this apple use case pilot occurred in Hawke\u2019s Bay, New Zealand\u2019s premier apple-growing region. Lincoln Agritech began by conducting in-depth interviews to assess the industry\u2019s current disease management practices and identify how the anticipated risk assessment tools developed within STELLA could be beneficial.<\/p>

STELLA\u2019s research and development activities complement a New Zealand apple pest research and management project titled \u201cSmart & Sustainable\u201d (S&S). This industry project, co-funded (40%) by the New Zealand Government, targets future pest management in the apple industry, focusing strongly on the expectations of New Zealand\u2019s apple export markets.<\/p>

research synergies<\/strong><\/h5><\/div><\/div>
\u00a0<\/div><\/div>

Recognising potential synergies, colleagues from Plant & Food Research (Nari Williams and Peter Wood) invited the STELLA project to conduct their UCP work within their ongoing\u00a0N. alba<\/em> disease management trials, which form part of the S&S project. Through this collaboration, STELLA has provided advanced sensors from its European industry partners to facilitate the collection of\u00a0N. alba<\/em>\u00a0spores within the trials for subsequent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis.<\/p>

Additionally, camera-based sensors from Greece are being used to assess detailed canopy features of apple tree rows. To provide a comprehensive overview, Lincoln Agritech has collected orchard site data, crop management practices, and aerial images of the tree blocks using an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone), complemented by satellite images.<\/p><\/div>

\"\"<\/p>

Figure 2: Apple picking in full bloom.<\/em>
Source: Paul Sutherland Photography<\/em><\/p><\/div>

The spore-sampling devices are specifically designed to monitor the rain-splash dispersal and subsequent infection patterns of\u00a0N. alba<\/em>. The camera sensor technology gathers crucial data on apple crop management and specific canopy characteristics, such as fruit counts and foliar density.<\/p>

Initial data collection occurred within established orchard trials during the 2024\/25 growing season. This foundational data now guides the preliminary stages of developing STELLA\u2019s predictive risk model for\u00a0N. alba<\/em>, complemented by New Zealand\u2019s risk assessment and management tools, promising more effective and targeted disease management strategies for the future.<\/p>

The author acknowledges the use of AI language technology to support the research and drafting of this post. Any errors or opinions are my own.<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Armin Werner Principal Science AdvisorLincoln Agritech New Zealand\u2019s horticultural sector, particularly its globally significant apple industry,…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39839,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":21,"footnotes":""},"categories":[136,138],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-project-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stella-pss.eu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stella-pss.eu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stella-pss.eu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stella-pss.eu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stella-pss.eu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stella-pss.eu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stella-pss.eu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stella-pss.eu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stella-pss.eu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stella-pss.eu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}