Achieving optimal fruit size and quality is critical in today’s market - but there are challenges. With Phytech fruit sensors measuring apples' real-time growth rate and Phytech plant sensors monitoring trees' water demand, our Washington customers (supported by team members Iftach Shalev Rosenbach & Travis Klicker) can reach their target with the optimal Tree-fruit feedback.
Once growers set their goal size, our Plant app displays their current fruit size against the required trajectory for reaching the objective. With real-time data, the ability to control size and quality is honed even more precisely- especially on important varieties such as Honeycrisp.
A common practice is cutting the irrigation to stop growth and push sugars from the trunk up to the fruit. This becomes a delicate balance to keep, but with direct data from the tree and the fruit, growers no longer have to do trials and errors. If the apple is growing larger than the reference line, growers can consider decreasing irrigation. If apples falling below the reference line, growers can consider increasing irrigation or change frequency to help the tree build its fruits.
With clear visibility of their fruits and trees status, growers can better control and optimize their production.