GreenTech, on the robotic track
Berry, a robot for harvesting strawberries,automates the detection of position, ripeness, and quality of the fruit.
The stars of the 2022 edition of GreenTech Amsterdam were undoubtedly robots. As robots start picking strawberries and tomatoes, peeling cucumber stems, and diffusing UV against powdery mildew, the greenhouse world is moving toward automation and dispensing with human labour. The winner of the GreenTech concept award was Berry, a robot for harvesting strawberries. “It can pick 10 kg an hour and work day and night and it can replace one human picker,” said Hannah Brown, CCO of Organifarms, the German company that created Berry. Another trend highlighted during the fair is the rise of digital systems able to collect and analyse data for farmers. The award nominees also included Trap View by Biobest, a fully automated sticky trap that allows farmers to monitor their IPM systems; and HortiFootprint by LetsGrow, which measures the carbon footprint of horticultural production and supports growers by simulating the impacts of management changes on their carbon footprint. The GreenTech innovation award went to the Biobest Micromus system, a new insect for controlling aphids, highlighting that the search for IPM solutions is still a major concern for horticultural farmers. With almost 11,000 visitors from 121 countries, there was a tangible feeling that GreenTech is back in business after the pandemic. The next edition of GreenTech Amsterdam will take place from Tuesday to Thursday, June 13-15, 2023, at RAI Amsterdam.
