This investment is helping protected cropping growers maintain profitability by advancing the industry’s approach towards sustainability, agronomy, automation to reduce labour costs, energy, and improving staff skills and management.  

Challenge 

The Australian Protected Cropping Strategy 2021-2030 was developed through extensive industry consultation and outlines opportunities for research, development and extension to support the adoption of protected cropping in the Australian horticulture industry. This project will address key opportunities that were identified in the Strategy, bringing together researchers, growers and industry specialists.  

Response 

The key project activities include:   

• New technology: Innovating a two-dimensional avocado canopy for automated pruning, automated tomato pollination, crop spraying with robots, and tomato truss packing and harvesting systems to minimise labour, a supplemental LED lighting system for Australian conditions, and labour-saving automated equipment for avocado cultivation.
  
  
• Attracting and retaining people: Creating a high-tech horticulture training program in South Australia, developing a software to monitor farm worker training, and enhancing skills of farm staff in avocado cultivation.
  
  
• Sustainability: Developing a system for recycling perlite growing media and strategies to enhance strawberry cultivation with reduced nitrate leaching in Northern NSW.
  
  
• Advanced agronomy: Establishing a cutting-edge research facility in South Australia, introducing an AI-based growing system for local growers, creating a quality management system for avocado substrate cultivation, tools to manage biennial avocado bearing, optimising light interception for better yield in containerised avocados. Research will support the design of netting, rain covers, and solar panel protected cropping systems to consistently produce high yields of quality fruit, increase resilience to extreme climate events, and potentially generate electricity for onsite and offsite use.    

Benefit 

By embracing automation and technological advancements, protected cropping growers can achieve greater sustainability, improve crop quality, and enhance profitability, paving the way for a more efficient and competitive future.