Source: WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to
INTELLIGENT AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS FOR SPECIALTY CROP PRODUCTION
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0221681
Grant No.
(N/A)
Project No.
WNP00745
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Mar 1, 2010
Project End Date
Feb 28, 2015
Grant Year
(N/A)
Project Director
Zhang, Q.
Recipient Organization
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
240 FRENCH ADMINISTRATION BLDG
PULLMAN,WA 99164-0001
Performing Department
Center for Precision & Automation Ag Systems (CPAAS)
Non Technical Summary
This research is to develop agricultural automation technologies, from intelligent agricultural machinery to smart crop sensors, for mechanized precision farming applications. It is aimed to provide US specialty crop grower handy tools to practice sustainable mechanized and/or automated production, through considering labor dependency, overall costs, environmental footprints, product quality and safety to optimize profitability.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
4021199202030%
4021499202010%
4022299202010%
4041199202030%
4041499202010%
4042299202010%
Knowledge Area
404 - Instrumentation and Control Systems; 402 - Engineering Systems and Equipment;

Subject Of Investigation
1199 - Deciduous and small fruits, general/other; 1499 - Vegetables, general/other; 2299 - Miscellaneous and new crops, general/other;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering;
Goals / Objectives
The primary focus of this proposal is the development of mechanization and automation solutions for specialty crops production, including detection and control of disease, pests, quality and food safety. Specific objectives of this project are to develop: 1) mechanization and robotic solutions for production of a wide range of specialty crops, including but not limited to fruits and vegetables, hops, grapes and berries, and nursery crops; 2)automated solutions for disease/pest monitoring, scouting and controlling in specialty crop production; 3) core technologies for computer-aided worksite management, from data collection and analysis to decision-making support; and 4) effective methods for demonstrating and delivering the research outcomes to the stakeholders.
Project Methods
Two research approaches, demand-driven or technology-driven, will be used in this project for solving different problems. The demand-driven approach is to improve existing methods through analyzing the deficiencies of existing technology and searching for solutions to solve the problem. The technology-driven approach is to search for alternative methods to more effectively or efficiently solve the problem by taking advantage of technology advancements.

Progress 03/01/10 to 02/28/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Specialty crop producers, equipment manufacturers and technology providers who are seeking new solutions to improve crop production and efficiency are the primary audience of this project. Because of the user-centered design nature of this project, outreach to our partners is continuous and integral to its success. The end-users of the technology were included in the discussions in the beginning and through out the project duration to identify needed intelligent technologies, and to aid in the commercialization of the developed technologies. Changes/Problems:There has been significant and widespread success through the research and engineering projects at WSU and around the world in developing automation and mechanization solutions for specialty crops. However, most of the production operations still remain largely manual and highly labor intensive. Labor availability is uncertain at best, and labor costs have been steadily increasing. The jobs in the crop fields are highly laborious too. Few people will work on these farms when there are employment alternatives. The industry has already been hit by severe labor shortages in recent years. In 2012, growers did not find enough workers in Washington State to harvest the record apple crop (Millman, 2012). 2014 was not much different. On top of the labor issues are more stringent regulations for quality and safety that reinforce the need for more mechanized and automated production systems. Both the industry, and state and federal governments have realized that focused efforts are needed to further develop mechanization and automation technologies to deal with the serious issues facing specialty crop production. There are particular challenges for successfully applying intelligent mechanization and automation technologies in specialty crops, including complex plant structures, inconsistency in product shape and size, the delicacy of the products, and smaller economies of scale. But there are opportunities, too. New mechanization-friendly orchard architectures are opening up possibilities for automation. For example, the SNAP architecture (Simple, Narrow, Accessible, and Productive) represents these types of training systems that create very narrow two-dimensional canopies in which the majority of branches and fruits are visible and accessible to machines. Additionally, the availability of low-cost computational power, recent advancements in robotics, and new sensor technologies show promise in automating specialty crop production operations. We will continue to exploit these opportunities to address the challenges and develop commercially adoptable solutions in the future. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Graduate students and post-doctoral research associates working on the project took advantages of opportunities to develop their wide-spectrum of research skills and professionalism in a collaborative working environment. The project also provide opportunity for collaborative research and education with scholars from various countries including China, Brazil, Japan, Malaysia, France and Nepal. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Modes of project outreach included scientific papers, patents, publications in the trade and popular press, presentations in scientific and commodity group meetings and conferences, technology demonstrations, and field days. In addition, there was a frequent communication with manufactures, growers and the people who will potentially be using the intelligent system technologies as well as sets of standards used to convey the design concepts learned to a wide audience of engineers and technicians. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Accomplishment for Objective 1: Mechanization and robotic solutions Apple Harvesting: Working directly with stakeholders in PNW region, a research strategic plan for developing intelligent solutions for fresh-market apple harvesting was created. An ideal ultimate goal was defined along with a few focus areas for research and development to achieve the goal. Based on this goal, an ideal mechanical harvest system should be capable of picking >95% of the fruit with <5% of harvest induced cullage in SNAP (Simple, Narrow, Accessible and Productive) fruiting wall orchard systems using <20% of current level of human labor (or >80% labor reduction) no slower than an average human picker's picking speed. The system should be economically competitive with current harvest systems. Follow-up implementation for achieving this goal has been planned. Two conceptual technologies, one for mass-harvest and another for robotic-harvest, have been developed and are under a feasibility study. Another research project on finding a robotic solution to assist the harvest process, namely the research for developing an intelligent in-orchard bin-management system also started in 2014. All those research projects aim to prove the concept of intelligent solutions for more effectively and efficiently harvest fresh-market apples. Machine Vision For Pruning: Sweet cherry Harvesting: Developed and demonstrated a mechanical harvesting system suitable for harvesting sweet cherry from multiple canopy systems. Based on the analyses of the interactions between the machine and various canopy structures under different harvesting conditions, constraints of mechanical harvesting for those canopy systems were identified, and solutions for optimizing tree-machine integrated systems were proposed. Tropical Biomass Harvesting: Conducted baseline test of using existing commercial sugarcane harvester for biofuel feedstock, such as sugarcane and energy-cane, to assess the feasibility and issues need to be addressed regarding use of existing machinery in biofuel feedstock production. Lab simulation system was developed to study the performance and efficiency of the harvester cutting mechanism. Blossom Thinning: A hand-held device was developed to thin fruit tree blossom of, including but not limited to Cherry, Apple, Pear and Apricot. It improves thinning efficiency, reduces labor cost and improves fruit quality illustrated by trials conducted in orchards in Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania in US, as well in Chile. Hops Twining: Twining is a labor intense task in high-trellis hop production. This robotic knot-tying end-effector was developed to perform automatic knot-tying. Concept validation tests proved that the invented knot-tying end-effector could successfully tie clove hitch knots satisfactorily on trellis wires. Bin Dog: This is a remotely controllable self-propelled bin handling platform implementable in typical Washington tree fruit orchards. It is capable of traveling in typical WA/OR tree fruit orchards; and (2) capable of placing an empty bin at target locations in the row to support efficient picking and transporting a full bin to the designated bin landing area. The developed prototype-one could accomplish the designated functionalities based on the tested results in both off-field environment and orchard environment in 2012 harvest season. Accomplishments for Objective 2: Automated and precision solutions for pest (e.g. disease, insect, weed) monitoring, scouting and controlling in specialty crop production A device was developed for practicing barrier application for cutworm control and chemical control of suckers in vineyards and high density tree fruit orchards. It uses a target recognition system to detect plant trunks, and controls a multi-nozzle spraying system rapidly and precisely applying chemicals to obtain an adequate coverage on plant trunks. Spray efficiency tests showed that targeted applications applied higher application densities at <10% of the spray volume compared to that with commercial applications with about 65-70% of the spray hitting the target under the environmental conditions tested. The trailer targeted sprayer for cutworm control performed well and would greatly reduce insecticide application costs and open up opportunities for alternative control products that are more desirable but prohibitively expensive in larger application volumes used in conventional application systems. Accomplishments for Objective 3: Core technologies for computer-aided worksite management, from data collection and analysis to decision-support system PAR Measurement: Developed and demonstrated a mobile system which measures the interception of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) for orchards with modern fruiting wall canopy systems. This measurement system was able to maintain a constant spatial resolution 0.01 × 0.10 m within a moving speed varying range of 0-3.8 km per hour, and to automatically correct data distortion caused by different time and different location of the measurement being made. A system was developed for site-specific and individual automatic control of various areas of an orchard. Various types of data was collected from each sub-plot within the block including soil moisture, air temperature, and canopy temperature. This data is reported back to a central control computer, which analyzes the data, makes irrigation decisions, then automatically opens and closes irrigation control solenoid valves to optimally manage the irrigation for each sub-plot within the block. This setup is currently being used to test various irrigation automation algorithms. Sensing Water and Nitrogen Stress in Potatoes: This research investigated the feasibility of non-destructive estimation of nutritional status of potato canopy using multispectral and hyperspectral imaging and prediction of tuber yield and quality response to variable nutrient management under pivot irrigation. Experiments were carried in green house and in the field to collect spectral signature of plant managed with different levels of water and nitrogen. A good correlation between changes in spectral signature and changes in water and nitrogen levels was observed.

Publications

  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: DeKleine, M. 2014. Semi-automated End-effector Concepts for Localized Removal and Catching of Fresh-market Apples in Fruiting Wall Orchards. PhD Dissertation, Washington State University
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Gongal, A. 2014. Improved Apple Crop-load Estimation with an Over-the-Row Machine Vision System. MS Thesis, Washington State University
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Adhikari, B. 2012. Identification of Pruning Branches in Tall Spindle Apple Trees for Automated Pruning. MS Thesis, Washington State University
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Larbi P., S. Amatya, M. Karkee, Q. Zhang, and M. Whiting. 2014. Modification and Field Evaluation of an Experimental Mechanical Sweet Cherry Harvester. Applied Engineering in Agriculture.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Larbi, P., C. N Vong, M. Karkee. A Study of Operator Performance for a Mechanical Sweet Cherry Harvester: Comparison between Manual and Remote-Controlled Operation. Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2015 Citation: Sharda, A., M. Karkee, Q. Zhang, J. Brunner, I. Ewlanow, and U. Adameit. Effect of emitter type and mounting configuration on spray coverage for Solid Set Canopy Delivery Systems. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Silwal, A., A. Gongal, and M. Karkee. 2014. Apple identification in field environment with over the row machine vision system. Agricultural Engineering International: CIGR Journal, 16(4): 66-75.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Larbi, P. A., and M. Karkee. 2014. Effects of Orchard Characteristics and Operator Performance on Harvesting Rate of a Mechanical Sweet Cherry Harvester. GSTF Journal on Agricultural Engineering, 1(1): 1-11.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Amatya, S., M. Karkee, A. K. Alva, P. A. Larbi, and B. Adhikari. 2014. Hyperspectral Imaging for Detecting Water Stress in Potatoes. GSTF Journal on Agricultural Engineering, 1(1): 52-61.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Gongal, A., S. Amatya, M. Karkee, Q. Zhang, and K. Lewis. 2014. Identification of Repetitive Apples for Improved Crop-Load Estimation with Dual-Side Imaging. Proceedings of The 19th World Congress of the International Federation of Automatic Control; 24-29 August 2014; Cape Town, South Africa
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Karkee, M., R. McNaull, S. J. Birrell and B. L. Steward. 2012. Variable Rate Biomass Collection System for Sustainable Biomass Harvesting. Transactions of the ASABE, 55(1): 107115.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Karkee, M., B. Steward, and J. Kruckeberg. 2013. Automation of Pesticide Application Systems. In Agricultural Automation: Fundamentals and Practices (Q. Zhang and F. Pierce editors; ISBN: 9781439880579). CRC Press: Boca Raton, Florida, USA
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Karkee, M. and Q. Zhang. 2012. Mechanization and Automation Technologies in Specialty Crop Production. Invited Article, ASABE Resource Magazine, Sep/Oct 2012: 16-17
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Ma, S., P. Scharf, M. Karkee, Q. Zhang, J. Tong, and L. Yu. 2014. Effects of Off-Track Errors of a Sugarcane Harvester On Stubble Height and Weight. Proceedings of the 6th Automation Technology for Off-road Equipment Conference (ATOE),15-19 September 2014, Beijing, China
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Sharda, A., D. Mangus, M. Karkee, and Q. Zhang. 2014. Effect Of Time Of Application On Spray Coverage Using Solid Set Canopy Delivery System. Proceedings of 12th International Conference on Precision Agriculture; July 20-23, Sacramento, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: De Kleine, M.E., M. Karkee, K. Lewis, and Q. Zhang. 2014. A Dual Motor Actuator used to Detach Fruit by Shaking Limbs of Fruit Trees. Proceedings of 12th International Conference on Precision Agriculture; July 20-23, Sacramento, CA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Gongal, A., S. Amatya, and M. Karkee. 2014. Identification of Repetitive Apples for Improved Crop-Load Estimation with Dual-Side Imaging. ASABE Paper No.141888882. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Tong, J., Q. Zhang, M. Karkee, H. Jiang, and J. Zhou. 2014. Understanding the Dynamics of Hand Picking Patterns of Fresh Market Apples. ASABE Paper No.141898024. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: De Kleine, M. E., M. Karkee, K. Lewis, and Q. Zhang. 2014. An End Effector Concept for Removing Fresh-Market Apples from a Tree Limb. ASABE Paper No.141906284. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Larbi, P. A., M. Karkee, S. Amatya, Q. Zhang, and M. D. Whiting. 2014. Field Evaluation of a Modified Mechanical Sweet Cherry Harvester. ASABE Paper No.141896871. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Sharda, A., M. Karkee, Q. Zhang, and I. Ewlanow. 2013. Effect of nozzle type and mounting configuration around tree canopy on product coverage for Solid Set Canopy Delivery System. ASABE Paper No. 131620700. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Sharda, A., M. Karkee, and Q. Zhang. 2013. Fluid dynamics of a solid set canopy spray delivery system for orchard applications. ASABE Paper No. 131620688. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Zhou, J., L. He, Q. Zhang, and M. Karkee. 2013. The Effect of Shaking Frequency on Fruit Motion Patterns and Damage Rate during Cherry Detaching Process, ASABE Paper No. 131591861. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: He, L., J. Zhou, Q. Zhang, and M. Karkee. 2013. Evaluation of multi-pass mechanical harvest of sweet cherry. ASABE Paper No. 131596308. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Hashimoto, A., J. Arnold, J. Ayars, S. Crow, T. Eggeman, L. Jakeway, M. Karkee, S. Khanal, J. Kiniry, J. Matsunaga, G. Murthy, M. Nakahata, R. Ogoshi, B. Turano, S. Turn, J. Yanagida, and Q. Zhang. 2012. High-Yield Tropical Biomass for Advanced Biofuels. Sun Grant Initiative National Conference, New Orleans, LA; Oct 2-5, 2012.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Amatya, S., M. Karkee, A. K. Alva, P. A. Larbi, and B. Adhikari. 2012. Hyperspectral Imaging for Detecting Water Stress in Potatoes. ASABE Paper No. 121345197. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: He, L., J. Zhou, X. Du, D. Chen, Q. Zhang, and M. Karkee. 2012. Shaking Energy Delivery on Sweet Cherry Trees in Different Excitation Models. ASABE Paper No. 12-1337766. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Zhou, J. L. He, X. Du, D. Chen, Q. Zhang, and M. Karkee. 2012. Dynamic Response of Sweet Cherry Tree to the Vibration of a Limb Shaker. ASABE Paper No. 12-1337429. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Adhikari, B., and M. Karkee. 2011. 3D Reconstruction of Apple Trees for Mechanical Pruning. ASABE Paper No. 111161. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Amatya, S., M. Karkee, and A. Gongal. 2014. Identification and localization of shaking points for automated sweet cherry harvesting using mechanical shakers. ASABE Annual International Meeting, July 13-16, Montreal, Canada
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: De Kleine, M., M. Karkee, Q. Zhang, and K. Lewis. 2014. Study of Fresh-Market Apple Harvesting Techniques. 29th International Horticultural Congress, August 17-22, 2014, Brisbane Queensland, Australia.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Gongal, A., and M. Karkee. 2014. Apple Crop-load Estimation with Over the Row Machine Vision Systems. 2nd International Conference on Agricultural and Horticultural Technologies, Feb 3  5, 2014, Hyderabad, India.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Larbi, P.A., M. Karkee, S. Amatya, M. De Kleine, Q. Zhang, and M.D. Whiting. 2013. Modification and Testing of an Experimental Sweet Cherry Harvester. Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference, Jan 28-30, 2013, Kansas City, MO.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Amatya, S., M. Karkee, and A. K. Alva, 2013. Nitrogen stress detection for potato using hyperspectral imaging. ASABE Abstract No. 1589210. St. Joseph Mich.: ASABE
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: De Kleine, M.E., and M. Karkee. 2013. A non-Newtonian Shear Thickening Surface for Fruit Impact Bruising Evaluation. ASABE Annual International Meeting, July 21-24, Kansas City, MO.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Gongal, A., S. Amatya, and M. Karkee. 2013. Apple Crop Load Estimation with Over-the-Row Machine Vision System. ASABE Abstract No. 1618571. St. Joseph Mich.: ASABE.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: Karkee, M., and B. Adhikari. 2011. Design and Analysis of a Robotic Machine for Fruit Tree and Bush Pruning. ASABE Annual International Meeting, Louisville, KY, Aug 7-11, 2011.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Silwal, A., M. Karkee, and Q. Zhang. 2014. Machine Vision System for Robotic Apple Harvesting. 110th Annual Meeting and Trade Show of Washington State Horticultural Association (WSHA); Dec 1-3, 2014; Kennewick, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Sharda, A., M. Karkee, Q. Zhang, and G. Hoheisel. 2014. Design and Evaluation of Solid Set Canopy Delivery System for Spray Application in High-Density Apple Orchard. ASABE Annual International Meeting; July 13-16, 2014; Montreal, Canada
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Ma, S., P. A. Scharf, Q. Zhang, M. Karkee, J. Tong, and L. Yu. 2014. Effects of Growth Characteristics of Sugarcane Clusters and Cutting Height on Harvester Performance: Cutting Quality. 18th World Congress of CIGR; September 16-19, 2014; Beijing, China
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Ma, S., P. A. Scharf, M. Karkee, and Q. Zhang. 2014. Performance Evaluation of a Chopper Harvester in Hawaii Sugarcane Fields. ASABE Annual International Meeting; July 13-16, 2014; Montreal, Canada.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Larbi, P.A., and M. Karkee. 2014. Effects of Orchard Characteristics and Operator Performance on Harvesting Rate of a Mechanical Sweet Cherry Harvester. 2014 WSU Academic Showcase; March 28, 2014; Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Gongal, A., S. Amatya, M. Karkee, K. Lewis, and Q, Zhang. 2014. Apple Crop Load Estimation with Over-the-Row Machine Vision System. 110th Annual Meeting and Trade Show of Washington State Horticultural Association (WSHA); Dec 1-3, 2014; Kennewick, WA
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Gongal, A., S. Amatya, M. Karkee, K. Lewis, and Q. Zhang. 2014. Identification of Repetitive Apples for Improved Crop-Load Estimation with Dual-Side Imaging. 2014 WSU Academic Showcase; March 28, 2014; Pullman, WA
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Larbi, P.A., M. Karkee, and I. Hanrahan. Chilling Injury Detection in Honeycrisp" Apples Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing. 2013. 109th Washington State Horticulture Association Annual Meeting; Dec 2-4, 2013; Wenatchee, WA
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: De Kleine*, M. E., M. Karkee, Y. Ye, K. Lewis, and Q. Zhang. 2013. A Dual Motor Actuator for Limb Shaking Fruit Trees. 109th Washington State Horticulture Association Annual Meeting; Dec 2  4, 2013, Wenatchee, WA
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Zhou, J., L. He, P.A. Larbi, S. Amatya, Q. Zhang, M. Karkee, and M. Whiting. 2013. Harvesting rate in cherry orchards with different architectures using a mechanical-assist shake-and-catch harvesting system. 2013. 109th Washington State Horticulture Association Annual Meeting; Dec 2-4, 2013; Wenatchee, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Gongal, A., S. Amatya, M. Karkee, K. Lewis, and Q, Zhang. 2013. Over-The-Row Machine Vision for Improved Crop Load Estimation. 2013 WSU Academic Showcase; Pullman, WA
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Amatya, S., M. Karkee, A. Gongal, Q. Zhang, and M. D. Whiting, 2014. Identification of cherry tree branches for automated shake-n-catch harvesting. 110th Annual Meeting and Trade Show of Washington State Horticultural Association (WSHA); Dec 1-3, 2014; Kennewick, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Amatya, S., M. Karkee, and A. Gongal. 2014. Identification of cherry branches for automated sweet cherry harvesting. 2014 WSU Academic Showcase; March 28, 2014; Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Amatya, S., M. Karkee, A. K. Alva, P. Larbi, and B. Adhikari, 2013. Hyperspectral imaging for detection of water stress in potatoes. 2013 WSU Academic Showcase; Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: De Kleine, M.E., M. Karkee, K. Lewis, and Q. Zhang. 2013. Fresh-Market Apple Harvesting. Dr. William R. Wiley Research Exposition; Feb 2013; Washington State University, Pullman, WA
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: De Kleine, M.E., and M. Karkee. 2013. Evaluating Fruit Impact Bruising on a non-Newtonian Shear Thickening Surface. Dr. William R. Wiley Research Exposition; Feb 2013; Washington State University, Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Gongal, A., B. Adhikari, S. Amatya, M. Karkee, Q. Zhang and K. Lewis. 2012. 3D Machine Vision for Improved Apple Crop Load Estimation. 108th WSHA Annual Meeting and Trade Show; Dec 3-5, 2012; Yakima, WA
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Sharda, A., M. Karkee, and Q. Zhang. 2012. Pressure dynamics in solid set canopy spray application system for tree fruit orchards. 108th WSHA Annual Meeting and Trade Show; Dec 3-5, 2012; Yakima, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Sharda, A., M. Karkee, Q. Zhang and I. Ewlanow. Effect of nozzle type, location and orientation around tree canopy on product coverage for solid set canopy delivery system. 108th WSHA Annual Meeting and Trade Show; Dec 3-5, 2012; Yakima, WA
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: De Kleine, M.E., and M. Karkee. 2012. A non-Newtonian Shear Thickening Surface for Fruit Impact Bruising Evaluation. 108th WSHA Annual Meeting and Trade Show; Dec 3-5, 2012; Yakima, WA
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: De Kleine, M.E., M. Karkee, K. Lewis, and Q. Zhang. 2012. Apple Harvesting Techniques. 108th WSHA Annual Meeting and Trade Show; Dec 3-5, 2012; Yakima, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Larbi, P.A., M. Karkee, S. Amatya, M. De Kleine, Q. Zhang, and M.D. Whiting. 2012. Modification and Testing of an Experimental Sweet Cherry Harvester. 108th WSHA Annual Meeting and Trade Show; Dec 3-5, 2012; Yakima, WA
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Larbi, P.A., M. Karkee, and Ines Hanrahan. 2012. Prospective of Hyperspectral Imaging Techniques for Predicting Chilling Injury Incidence in Honeycrisp" Apples. 108th WSHA Annual Meeting and Trade Show; Dec 3-5, 2012; Yakima, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Adhikari, B., M. Karkee. 2012. 3D Reconstruction of Apple Trees for Mechanical Pruning. WSU Academic Showcase, March 30, 2012; Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: Adhikari, B., M. Karkee. 2011. 3D Reconstruction of Apple Trees for Mechanical Pruning. 107the WSHA Annual Meeting; Dec 5  7, 2011; Wenatchee, WA


Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Specialty crop producers, equipment manufacturers and technology providers who are seeking new solutions to improve crop production and efficiency. Because of the user-centered design nature of this project, outreach to our partners is continuous and integral to its success. The end-users of the technology are included in our initial meetings to identify needed intelligent technologies, and aid in the commercialization of the developed technologies. Modes of project outreach will include expected scientific papers, as well as patents and publications in the trade and popular press. In addition, there will be frequent communication with manufactures, growers and the people who will be using the intelligent system technologies as well as sets of standards used to convey the design concepts learned to a wide audience of engineers and technicians. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Graduate students and post-doctoral research associates working on the project took advantages of opportunities to develop their wide-spectrum of research skills and professionalism in a collaborative working environment. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Research outcomes have been presented at both international professional conferences and a regional industry meeting and field days. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Continue the integrated system research, and focusing on the feasibility studies of the two conceptual automation technologies for tree fruit harvest.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Working directly with stakeholders in thePNW region, a research strategic plan for developing intelligent solutions for fresh-market apple harvesting was created. An ideal ultimate goal was defined along with a few focus areas for research and development to achieve the goal. Based on this goal, an ideal mechanical harvest system should be capable of picking >95% of the fruit with <5% of harvest induced cullage in SNAP (Simple, Narrow, Accessible and Productive) fruiting wall orchard systems using <20% of current level of human labor (or >80% labor reduction) no slower than an average human picker’s picking speed. The system should be economically competitive with current harvest systems. Follow-up implementation for achieving this goal has been planned. Two conceptual technologies, one for mass-harvest and another for robotic-harvest, have been developed and are under a feasibility study. Another research project on finding a robotic solution to assist the harvest process, namely the research for developing an intelligent in-orchard bin-management system also started in 2014. Allof theseresearch projects aim to prove the concept of intelligent solutions for more effectively and efficiently harvesting offresh-market apples. Developed and demonstrated a mechanical harvesting system suitable for harvesting sweet cherry from multiple canopy systems. Based on the analyses of the interactions between the machine and various canopy structures under different harvesting conditions, constraints of mechanical harvesting for those canopy systems were identified, and solutions for optimizing tree-machine integrated systems were proposed. Conducted baseline test of using existing commercial sugarcane harvester for biofuel feedstock, such as energy-cane, to assess the feasibility and issues needed to be addressed regarding use of existing machinery in biofuel feedstock production. Developed and demonstrated a mobile system which measures the interception of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) for orchards with modern fruiting wall canopy systems. This measurement system was able to maintain a constant spatial resolution of0.01 × 0.10 m within a moving speed varying range of 0-3.8 km per hour, and to automatically correct data distortion caused by different time and different location of the measurement being made.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Ma, S. M. Karkee, P.A. Scharf, and Q. Zhang, 2014. Sugarcane harvester technology: a critical overview. Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 30(5): 727-739.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Zhou, J., L. He, Q. Zhang, and M. Karkee. 2014. Effect of excitation position of a handheld shaker on fruit removal efficiency and damage in mechanical harvesting of sweet cherry. Biosystems Engineering, 125: 36-44.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Zhang, J., 2014. Development and Application of a Novel System for Measuring Canopy Light Interception in Planar Orchards. Washington State University
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Zhou, J., 2014. Vibratory Harvesting Technology Research for Fresh Market Sweet Cherry. Washington State University
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Ampatzidis, Y.G., S.G. Vougioukas, M.D. Whiting, and Q. Zhang. 2014. Applying the machine repair model to improve efficiency of harvesting fruit. Biosystems Engineering, 120: 25-33
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Karkee, M., B. Adhikari, S. Amatya, and Q. Zhang. 2014. Identification of pruning branches in tall spindle apple trees for automated pruning. Computer and Electronics in Agriculture, 103: 127-135.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: He, L., J. Zhou, X. Du, D. Chen, Q. Zhang, and M. Karkee. 2013. Energy efficacy analysis of a mechanical shaker in sweet cherry harvest. Biosystems Engineering, 116(4): 309-315.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Kang, F., W. Li, F.J. Pierce, and Q. Zhang, 2014. Investigation and improvement of targeted barrier application for cutworm control in vineyards. Transactions of the ASABE, 57(2): 381-389.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Shao, Y., T. Li, B. Zeng, and Q. Zhang, 2014. Canopy pruning grade classification based on fast Fourier transform and artificial neural network. Transactions of the ASABE, 57(3): 963-971.


Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Crop producers and processors who are seeking new solutions to reduce production cost, increase crop yield, and improve crop quality. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Using this multi-state project as a platform, efforts have been made on establishing research and outreach programs at Washington State University. We have formed a trans-disciplinary research and extension team, consisting of engineers, computer scientists, horticulturists, economists and extension specialists, who are affiliated with the WSU Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems (CPAAS). To promote research collaboration world-wide, we organized and hosted an International Precision Agriculture Forum in Feb 2012. More than 20 internationally recognized research leaders in precision agriculture and agricultural automation from 18 highly prestigious universities, research institutions and equipment manufacturers representing 7 countries participated in this forum in Richland, WA. Bilateral and multilateral research and education collaborations established during the course of this project allowed us to send over the equivalent of 5 person-years of graduate students and faculty members to universities nationally and internationally. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Developed systems/devices were demonstrated at 3 field days, 1 technology show/expo, and several collaborator trials in commercial orchards/farms, with many of those research results being presented via 5 trade journal articles, as well as numerous TV and local newspaper converges. We also conducted presentations at industrial conferences/shows to directly reach over 150 growers, researchers and other stakeholders. We also presented more than 15 papers or posters at different regional, national and international professional conferences, and made several keynote presentationsand invited seminars at international professional conferences or higher education institutes to disseminate our research outcomes. The impact of developed integrated systems technology is very significant. It could help specialty growers to achieve their production goal of increasing the yield through more efficient production management and implementation. A few devices have been validated in extensive field trials in commercial orchards/farms. These include orchard harvest labor management systems, high-density orchard light penetration measurement system, and a robotic twining machine for hops production. The technology of orchard harvest labor management system has been made available to local equipment fabricators in order topromote the commercialization of research outcomes as useful tools for growers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? In the next reporting period, our team will continue to work with most of the sensing and automation technologies under development, as described in the accomplishment section. We will further investigate the cherry harvesting system including both machine vision technique and machinery system. Over the spring of 2014, a cherry cluster and branch identification algorithm will be developed and evaluated with the image data collectedduring the2012 and 2013 harvest seasons. In addition, new image data will be collectedduring the2013 harvest season. A new set of harvest experiments will also be carried outduring the2014 cherry harvest season. The apple harvesting project will also be continued during the next reporting cycle. Understanding the fruit growth pattern, measuring dynamics of fruit separation during manual harvesting, and an improved co-robotic system for apple identification and localization as well asrobotic end effector development will be the focus areas. In addition, different types of catching surfaces and mechanisms will be explored. A robotic bin picking machine will be further developed and evaluatedduring the2014 cherry and apple harvesting seasons.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We worked on various sensing and automaton technologies for specialty crop production during this reporting period. Development of mechanical/automated harvesting technologies for fresh market fruit has been one of the major focuses for the team. One of the projects focused on developing sensing and machinery systems for sweet cherry harvesting. A USDA-developed shake-and-catch harvester was modified to use vibratory shaking instead of original impact shaking. In addition, a remote control unit was integrated to offer flexibility and mobility for operators, which improved operator efficiency and productivity. Fruit removal efficiency of up to 98% was achieved; out of which up to 94% of fruit were collected. The results have been promising for practical applicability of this harvest system in commercial operation. A machine vision system was investigated to identify branches and shaking locations so that the shake-and-catch harvesting operation can be fully automated. Our team also worked on fresh market apple harvesting concepts. Pattern shaking, linear shaking and twisting mechanisms were evaluated to detach fruit from stem. Effectiveness of these systems depended on apple variety. It was concluded that targeted shaking has a potential for fresh market apple harvesting if an affective collection mechanism can be developed in orderto minimize fruit damage during catching. Our future efforts will be in developing appropriate catching mechanism. We also started a new project in Fall 2013 to develop basic technologies for robotic apple harvesting. We studied forces and torques exerted in apples during hand picking operations. A human-machine collaborative vision system has also been investigated for improved apple identification and localization. We also studied a robotic solution for bin handling in high density apple and cherry orchards to improve both the worker efficiency and safety in orchards. Our team is conducting a mechanical harvesting technology study for high yield tropical energy crops in biofuel feedstock production. In this reporting year, a series of baseline tests was conducted to obtain machine benchmark performance data in terms of biomass recovery rate (%) and machine productivity (Mg/ha). The field tests were performed in collaboration with the Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company (HC&S) in their commercial sugarcane fields. It included three main tasks:(1) assessing the biomass recovery rate of an existing harvester through weighing collected billets and uncollected biomass left in the field; (2) determining the moisture content and dry mass of cane stalks and trashes; and (3) performing a field efficiency test through recording time elapsed during individual field operation activities. Through the baseline tests, performance of the existing machine was evaluated in terms of harvesting efficiency and productivity. Based on the results obtained from this year’s baseline study, a more comprehensive field study has been plannedfir 2014 in order toobtain more information to support our core technology development study. Collaborating directly with Washington Hop growers, an innovative robotic twining device has also been developed and tested in a laboratory environment. A field test platform of this patented technology is under design and fabrication.

Publications

  • Type: Books Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Zhang, Q., Pierce, F.J. (2013). Agricultural Automation Fundamentals and Practices. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. (397p).
  • Type: Books Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Zhang, Q., Shao, Y., Pierce, F.J. (2013). Agricultural infotronic systems. In: Zhang, Q., Pierce, F.J. (eds). Agricultural Automation Fundamentals and Practices, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. pp. 41-62.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Karkee, M., Steward, B. Kruckeberg, J. (2013). Agricultural infotronic systems. In: Zhang, Q., Pierce, F.J. (eds). Agricultural Automation Fundamentals and Practices, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. pp. 263-294.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: He, L., Zhang, Q., Charvet, H. (2013). A knot-tying for robotic hop twining. Biosystems Engineering. 114(3): 344350.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Wang, M., Wang, H., Zhang, Q., Lewis, K.M., Scharf, P.A. (2013). A hand-held mechanical blossom thinning device for fruit trees. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 29(2): 155-160.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: : Du, X., Chen, D., Zhang, Q., Scharf, P.A., Whiting, M.D. (2013). Response of UFO (upright fruiting offshoots) on cherry trees to mechanical harvest by dynamic vibratory excitation. Transactions of the ASABE. 56(2): 345-354.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Zhou, J., He, L., Zhang, Q., Du, X., Chen, D., Karkee, M. (2013). Evaluation of the Influence of Shaking Frequency and Duration in Mechanical Harvesting of Sweet Cherry. Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 29(5): 607-612.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: : He, L., Zhou, J., Du, X., Chen, D., Zhang, Q., Karkee, M. (2013). Energy efficacy analysis of a mechanical shaker in sweet cherry harvest. Biosystems Engineering, 116(4): 309-315.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Wang, M. (2013). A Hand-Held Mechanical Device for Target Blossom Thinning in Sweet Cherry. Ph.D. Dissertation, Washington State University.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: : De Kleine, M.E., M. Karkee, K. Lewis, Q. Zhang. 2013. A Fresh Market Apple Harvesting Technique. ASABE Paper No. 1619241. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Larbi, P.A., S. Amatya, M. Karkee. 2013. Characterizing the Response of a Hyperspectral Camera Used in Close Range Imaging under Laboratory Conditions. ASABE Paper No. 1594789. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Larbi, P.A., M. Karkee, Q. Zhang, and M.D. Whiting. 2013. Assessment of a Prototype Sweet Cherry Harvester. ASABE Paper No. 1618476. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ma, S., M. Karkee, Q. Zhang. 2013. Sugarcane Harvesting System: a Critical Overview. ASABE Paper No. 1574361. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.


Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: This research aims to develop mechanization and automation solutions for specialty crops production. This integrated agricultural systems technology will be used to support mechanized and more effective special crops productions. The outputs from 2012 activities include (1) a comprehensive study on mechanical harvest technologies for fresh market sweet cherry, as a major contribution to a SCRI project; (2) the conduct of canopy PAR data acquisition and visualization, decision-making support, and wireless irrigation control using the systems and tools developed in the previous year in a second SCRI project; (3) the design and construction of a research system for conducting the fundamental studies of solid set canopy delivery of chemical applications a third SCRI project; (4) the design of a couple of prototypes of a hand-held blossom thinning device for tree fruit production, with a few machines being fabricated and distributed to growers for field demonstrations, and made ready for commercialization by local manufacturers; (5) the development of a proved concept of bin-dog for moving fruit bins within orchards in support of more efficient harvesting, with the first research prototype designed, fabricated and validated in WA tree fruit orchards; and (6) a concept-approval 3D in-orchard visual sensing system for robotic apple tree pruning and crop load estimation. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Based on the outcomes from this research program, 8 peer-reviewed articles have been published in various professional journals. Those developed systems/devices were demonstrated at 4 field days and 20+ collaborator trials in commercial orchards/farms. In addition, we made over a dozen presentations at industrial conferences/shows, and made 8 keynote speeches or invited seminars at international professional conferences and foreign higher education institutes. We have also hosted an international forum on precision and automated agricultural systems in March 2012 in Washington, and over 20 international research leaders from 7 countries have participated in this 2-day event. The impact of developed intelligent systems technology is very significant: it could help specialty growers to more effectively manage their operations. For example, canopy PAR data acquisition and visualization technology could allow growers to make more effective orchard management decisions through utilizing the actual tree canopy information. Use of autonomous bin-dog could increase worker productivity and safety by handling the bins more effectively during harvest.

Publications

  • Noh H., Q.Zhang 2012. Shadow effect on multi-spectral image for detection of nitrogen deficiency in corn. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 28(4):6.
  • Wang Q., H.Wang, L.Xie, Q.Zhang 2012. Outdoor color rating of sweet cherries using computer vision. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 87(1):8.
  • Kang F., H.Wang, F.Pierce, Q.Zhang, S.Wang 2012. Sucker detection of grapevines for targeted spray using optical sensors. Transactions of the ASABE. 55(5):8.
  • Ampatzidis I., M.D.Whiting, P.A.Scharf, Q.Zhang 2012. Development and Evaluation of a Novel System for Monitoring Harvest Labor Efficiency. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 88(2012):85-94.
  • He L., Q.Zhang, X.Du, R.Luo, M.Karkee 2012. A Twining Robot for High Trellis String Tying in Hops Production. Transactions of the ASABE. 55(5):1167-1673.
  • Chen D., X.Du, Q.Zhang, M.D.Whiting, P.A.Scharf, S.Wang 2012. Performance evaluation of mechanical cherry harvesters for fresh market grade fruits. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 28(4):7.
  • Du X., D.Chen, Q.Zhang, P.A.Scharf, M.D.Whiting 2012. Dynamic responses of sweet cherry trees under vibratory excitations. Biosystems Engineering. 111(3):10.
  • He L., Q.Zhang, X.Du, R.Luo, M.Karkee 2012. A Twining Robot for High-Trellis String Tying in Hops Production. Transactions of the ASABE.


Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: This research aims to develop mechanization and automation solutions for specialty crops production. This integrated agricultural systems technology will be used to support mechanized and more effective special crops productions. The outputs from 2011 activities include (1) a comprehensive study on mechanical harvest technologies for fresh market sweet cherry, as a major contribution to a SCRI project; (2) an optimal design of a hand-held thinning device for tree fruit blossoms, with a few units of demonstrative devices being fabricated and distributed to tree fruit growers both in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. and research collaborators in Chile, and the technology transfer negotiation is under the way; (3) a proved concept of bin-dog for moving fruit bins within orchards in support of more efficient harvesting, with the research being moved forward to develop a research platform and conduct field validation tests; (4) a proved feasibility for rapid and accurate rating of fruit size and color in orchard environment using a visual sensor; (5) a concept-approval for a 3D in-orchard visual sensing system for robotic apple tree pruning and crop load estimation; (6) the preliminary design for solid set canopy delivery of chemical applications, as an essential element for a SCRI project; and (7) the planning for a stakeholder meeting aiming to identify research issues and priorities on how to place fruit canopy management automation technology in the field, which is part of SCRI planning project effort. PARTICIPANTS: Qin Zhang, Manoj Karkee TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Based on the outcomes from this research program, 5 peer-reviewed articles have been published in various professional journals, one peer-reviewed article has been published in the proceedings of an international conference, and 7 research papers have been represented on several national and international technical conferences. In addition, those devices were demonstrated at 7 field days, 10 collaborator trials, and over 10 industrial presentations were made.

Publications

  • Chen, D., X.Du, S.Wang, and Q.Zhang. 2011. Mechanism of vibratory fruit harvest and review of current advance. Transactions of the CSAE, 27(8): 195-200.
  • Wang, Q., Q.Zhang, F.Rovira-Mas, and L.Tian. 2011. Stereovision-based lateral offset measurement for vehicle navigation in cultivated stubble fields. Biosystems Engineering. 109(4):258-265.
  • Kang, F., F.Pierce, D.Walsh, Q.Zhang, and S.Wang. 2011. An automated trailer sprayer system for targeted control of cutworm in vineyards. Transactions of the ASAE. 54(4):1-9.


Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: This research aims to develop mechanization and automation solutions for specialty crops production, including detection and control of disease, pests, quality and food safety. Such an integrated agricultural systems technology is for the use of supporting mechanized special crops production. Efforts have been focused on establishing research and outreach program at WSU, as well as on developing core technological elements essential for developing the integrated solutions. A semi-autonomous research platform has been developed based on a John Deere Gator. A research prototype of a hand-held blossom thinning device has been developed and validated in field tests, and an improved version of the prototype has also been built and sent to collaborators in Chile for field tests. A fundamental harvesting technology study has been successfully conducted for stem-free sweet cherry mechanical harvest as a major contribution to a SCRI project. The other major research activities of this year include the preliminary study on an "automated device for rapid & accurate rating of fruit size & color", initial research on "effects of packing line process on superior pear fruit quality", a feasibility study on "intelligent bin-dog system for tree fruit production" and a few others. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Based on the outcomes from this research program, three peer-reviewed articles have been published in various professional journals, one peer-reviewed article has been published in a proceedings of an international conference, and 4 research papers have been represented on several national and international technical conferences.

Publications

  • No publications reported this period