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project info
Start date: 1 September 2023
End date: 31 December 2025
funding
Fund: European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
Total budget: 2 517 053,32 €
EU contribution: 880 772,66 € (34,99%)
programme
Programming period: 2021-2027
European Commission Topic
European Commission Topic

‘Reaping the benefits’ of autonomous cultivation

The horticultural sector has many challenges; water and other resources (electricity, natural gas, fertilizer) are becoming scarcer and regulations are becoming more stringent. Companies are getting bigger but finding highly qualified and experienced staff is difficult. Moreover, due to the increased scale in horticulture, it is increasingly important to be able to monitor the crops remotely and to have insight into the growth and expected harvest yield. This OPZuid project is a first step towards autonomous cultivation by testing and demonstrating a decision support system for greenhouse horticulture. In order to achieve an autonomous cultivation, a system (‘scout’) is developed and tested in strawberry and raspberry cultivation. Smart substrate sensors are linked to cameras on the scout. Using a predictive AI model, it can then be determined down to the last drop how much water and nutrients the plant needs to achieve the optimal harvest in four weeks.

Flag of Netherlands  Zuidoost-Noord-Brabant, Netherlands