The question is not whether scientists can develop robotic pruning, tree training, and fruit picking systems. The question is how soon growers can adapt their orchards to accommodate them, a robotics expert says. Scientists across the country are working on a 6 million dollar, four-year project to develop automated equipment for apple production. A team at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania has developed a prototype of an autonomous vehicle designed to be used for a variety of orchard applications, such as insect monitoring, weed management, and plant stress and disease detection. There are also efforts under way to improve crop forecasting and harvesting efficiency with new technology.
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