If kiwifruit is harvested at the optimal moment, it would better survive shipping and get to market looking and tasting great, says Zespri chief digital officer Dave Scullin. Now, a new automated system for testing the quality and maturity of kiwifruit will tell growers the optimal time to harvest. Zespri worked with the data, analytics and AI arm of Spark, called Qrious, to develop the system. As kiwifruit matures at different rates, depending on the soil it was grown in, ground aspect and wind and frost exposure, timing the harvest can be difficult. The system had been developed from scratch starting in June and would be ready to start testing fruit in January, in time for the new season.

Source: Stuff November 11, 2021 13:23 UTC