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Here Is a Quick Overview of CrackSense Latest Updates

Transforming challenges into solutions, CrackSense is showcasing its significant contributions to advancing fruit cracking mitigation. Discover our recent synergies, scientific contributions, and field visits!

Field Visit Updates from CrackSense

Second growing season is in full swing and visits to experimental plots are essential for the measurement, data collection and optimisation of the methods in fruit cracking assessment. This newsletter issue features two field visits in the past few months.

  • The first visit took place at the experimental fields of Pegasus Agrifood Coop in Greece, where the Volcani Institute and the Smart Farming Technology Group from the Agricultural University of Athens participated. Together, they measured physiological parameters and captured spectral images using a drone and the TOMMY system. This collaborative effort aimed to enhance data collection methods and implement best practices ahead of the August table grape harvest while also developing strategies to mitigate heat wave damage.
  • The second visit occurred in the pomegranate orchards of Israel, where the team from the Volcani Institute conducted data acquisition with an advanced TOMMY system featuring various sensing technologies. Extensive data were collected to study fruit wetness, testing the hypothesis that 3D temperature point clouds of the fruit surface can help estimate wetness accumulation and predict cracking risk.
In-text visual used in a quick overview of CrackSense latest updates.
In-text visual representing our blog about agricultural sensors.
In-text visual used in a quick overview of CrackSense latest updates.

CrackSense Collaborates with Farmtopia and STELAR

Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) play a crucial role in fostering collaboration and aligning goals between projects to drive innovation in digital agriculture. CrackSense recently signed two MoUs with two EU projects.

The first was with the Farmtopia project, which aims to democratise digital farming and improve the adoption of Agricultural Digital Solutions (ADSs) among small-scale European farmers. This MoU strengthens our collaboration to promote farmer-oriented digital solutions and sustainable crop production.

Furthermore, the MoU with STELAR aims to advance digital agriculture by aligning efforts to enhance sustainability and efficiency in farming. Both projects focus on developing innovative solutions that leverage digital technologies to improve outcomes in the agrifood sector.

Besides these MoUs, CrackSense, AgriDataValue, and ScaleAgData recently met to explore further collaboration opportunities. Participants shared project updates and discussed joint efforts in dissemination and communication, with the goal of enhancing the recognition of data-driven agriculture and evaluating data-sharing prospects.

In-text visual used in a quick overview of CrackSense latest updates.
In-text visual used in a quick overview of CrackSense latest updates.

CrackSense Partners Announce Two Groundbreaking Scientific Contributions!

Two recent scientific contributions from CrackSense partners are pushing the boundaries of agricultural innovation:

  1. Estimating Pomegranate Fruit Cracking through Remote Sensing

The conference proceeding tackles yield loss from pomegranate cracking by utilising remote sensing techniques. By assessing vegetation indices and the effects of varied irrigation treatments, the partners provide new insights to improve crop management. This work highlights how data-driven approaches can transform fruit production.

2. Exploring Cherry Cracking with Close-Range Sensing

This publication explores the link between cherry cracking and increased water exposure using advanced close-range sensing tools. Utilising LiDAR and thermal imaging, the study examines temperature and wetness distribution in the tree canopy and its effects on cherry physiology.

In-text visual used in a quick overview of CrackSense latest updates.

Meet Our Partner Campaign

We invite you to explore our ongoing “Meet Our Partner Campaign,” where we shine a spotlight on the invaluable contributions of our trusted partners. In each feature, we highlight the expertise and key roles of team members from the CrackSense partner organisations.

In this edition of the CrackSense Newsletter, we bring you Foodscale Hub, an impact venture studio harnessing the power of technology and entrepreneurship. FSH is dedicated to accelerate the shift towards a fair, resilient, and sustainable future for Europe’s agri-food industry, while making a positive impact on society via tech-enabled innovations. FSH will empower CrackSense through the dissemination and communication strategies and activities, such as project branding, stakeholder engagement, and guidelines. FSH will also support the project’s research and piloting activities through methodology development for innovative value chain business modelling and exploitation pathways establishment.

In-text visual used in a quick overview of CrackSense latest updates.

Explore the News and Blog Posts in CrackSense Newsroom

We have recently published several blogs on precision farming, sensors, and drones—essential tools that CrackSense utilises to enhance crop management and sustainability. Besides these blogs, we also tackled the urgent need to combat food waste, particularly on the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste.

How is the CrackSense project addressing the challenge of food waste? Read our blogs to discover.

In-text visual used in a quick overview of CrackSense latest updates.
In-text visual used in a quick overview of CrackSense latest updates.

Conclusion

Stay updated and explore fascinating topics, insights, and breakthroughs! Don’t forget to follow us on LinkedInFacebookInstagram, and Twitter, and keep up with our Newsroom.