Increased demand for safe and high-quality food, pressure from global competition, and the need to preserve sustainability in natural resources and the environment, represent formidable challenges for specialty crop production in the U.S. Additionally, the decline in availability of skilled and unskilled farm labor is a continuing trend with very significant negative impact on specialty crop production. Producers and processors are urgently seeking new advancements in tools, methodologies, and systems that will aid them during production, harvesting, sorting, storing, processing, packaging, marketing, and transportation while maintaining competitiveness in production costs.

There is continuing need for sufficient and effective sensors, optimized assistive mechanization, and automation systems for specialty crops (fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and nursery). This is because many of the underlying biological processes related to quality and condition of fruits and vegetables are not readily transferred into engineering concepts. Biological variability, coupled with variable environmental factors, creates challenges and opportunities for developing sensors and automation systems for effective implementation at various stages of the production, harvest, and postharvest handling chain. Additionally, obtaining measurements of internal biological factors by using external, nondestructive sensors is not simple. Such devices or processes must adapt to a wide variation in shape, size, maturity, and other parameters of the commodity being processed. Although modern crop architectures, systems, and growing practices are slowly being upgraded to accommodate mechanized and automated production, a large portion of the production system, such as orchards, are still based on conventional, labor-intensive production practices. In contrast to grain crop production, it is a challenge for any single specialty crop sector to afford the cost of research, development, and commercialization of this complex level of automation, due to its relative small scale. It is thus important for public entities to assist this economically vital agricultural sector with integrated research and development in sensing, mechanization, and automation using an integrated approach.

Importance of the Work:
The steady increase in global competition and the recent decrease in available labor - especially skilled labor - have increased the need for new technologies.  The specialty crop industry in the United States faces significant challenges to remain competitive; improving production efficiency is critical to keeping the specialty crop industry thriving.  A system-wide approach to developing automation for the specialty crop industry is critically needed to address economic and environmental sustainability challenges. The proposed five-year project will address research and outreach needs for the specialty crop industry in these areas, working with researchers, manufacturers, and producers.  Approval of this project will allow researchers and industrial partners to share their results and to plan future efforts in a coordinated manner to help develop new technologies to improve efficiency, to reduce redundancies, and help promote better use of expertise.