Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1413164
yield per acre and price per pound, NOW damage at 2% reject levels can translate to a loss of anywhere from $336 to $436 per acre. 2 Machado remembers 2017 in which reject levels got especially bad. "We had growers who had never been above two percent in their lives experiencing eight to twelve percent," said Machado. He credits the bad year for NOW in 2017, in part, to coming out of the drought. For automation to make sense for a grower it will need to be attractive relative to other options. In this case, Machado doesn't see this technology taking the place of a typical mummy shake, but perhaps as a cleanup step instead of hiring hand polers to do the job. Haldewang estimates that the current model can cover an acre with 130 trees and 50 mummies per tree in about three hours. Considering the electric rover with an on-board generator can operate 24 hours per day, this is a comparable pace to a crew of eight polers working nine-hour days. As for pricing, Haldewang says she expects the pricing of the robotic service to be comparable with that of the hand crews. At similar pricing, InsightTRAC hopes to offer the same effectiveness and efficiency plus the benefit of the data collected while going through the orchard. Once the rovers are available for sale, that price could theoretically be driven even lower on a per acre basis without the need for an on-site technician. Navel orangeworm is just the beginning The orchard of the future is likely to include many forms of automation that growers can rely upon. Winter sanitation might serve as just an entry point to economically bring rovers out into the orchards. From there, they can collect data and serve other functions year-round. "My vision is that these rovers will be in the orchard 365 days per year performing a different role for the grower every single season," said Haldewang, "winter sanitation is just our first focus." There are many theoretical uses for a rover with this technology, including irrigation inspection, harvest estimation and pest scouting – just to name a few. "I see a clear interaction for the robot to work with other technologies we are using for yield prediction and irrigation management," said Sebastian Saa, senior research associate at the Almond Board of California (ABC). "We are encouraged to hear of Anna's progress, and happy to continue to provide guidance and connections to growers," Saa said. Data collected by the rover from the orchard floor could be aggregated with other remote sensing data such as satellite or drone for a more precise picture of what's happening with each tree. 3 While data collection isn't enough of a reason to justify buying a rover, it could be an advantage if the investment is justified for orchard sanitation. Another tool for the toolbox Of course, there is no single silver bullet (or in this case, biodegradable pellet) that will protect growers from NOW, but technology like InsightTRAC could be a helpful tool for the toolbox. Drew Wolter, pest management senior specialist at ABC, emphasized the need for an integrated pest management approach to NOW management, with the bedrock being winter sanitation. "It's also worth noting that these mummies are an inoculum source for hull rot as well. 4 It's absolutely critical to get winter sanitation right," said Wolter. Helping growers get winter sanitation done correctly and efficiently is what Haldewang is committed to accomplishing as she continues to validate the technology with growers. "We're accurate. We're consistent. And we provide further data into the orchard," said Halewang. "Focusing on the health and quality of the orchard improves overall yield, and we are very excited and proud to be a factor in contributing to those results." 4 https://www.almonds.com/almond-industry/industry- news/combat-hull-rot-today-protect-next-years-yields ALMOND ORCHARD 2025 GOAL 3 https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1390079- 2021-july-aug-how-we-grow/9? Growers and other industry members who are interested in participating in ongoing discussions around NOW management are invited to join an upcoming ABC Pest Management Workgroup or Strategic Ag Innovation Committee meeting. More information on these meetings may be found at Almonds.com/Events. For an undergraduate class project at Savannah College of Art and Design, Anna Haldewang created a concept for drone pollination technology. Not only did her design earn her a high grade, it went viral online. With the tailwinds of global media coverage at outlets like CNN and Time magazine, Haldewang launched her first company, Plan Bee, to commercialize the design. After some technical challenges with drones, she moved to a ground-based rover and eventually pivoted into orchard sanitation under the new company name, InsightTRAC. A Budding Entrepreneur Almond Board of California 6