Date: Wednesday April 5, 2023 Time: 13:00 – 17:00 Venue: WUR Greenhouse Horticulture, Violierenweg 1, Bleiswijk, The Netherlands Complexity of systems in greenhouse horticulture, arable farming and dairy is increasing, and society demands sustainable production systems. Current farming systems can only meet this demand to a limited extent. The way forward involves [ … ]
News
AGROS project enters exciting phase: applying autonomous control in cucumber
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) business unit Greenhouse Horticulture recently planted three cucumber crops as part of the AGROS project. The cultivation of these crops is controlled in different ways: in one greenhouse operational decisions are taken by a group of crop and irrigation experts, while the other two greenhouses are controlled remotely by a [ … ]
Scenarios for smart mixed cropping systems of 2040
Thinking about the future of smart mixed cropping systems is not only an interesting thought experiment, but also a good way to prepare for the future and associated challenges. Within AGROS, we have developed three future scenarios and corresponding transition paths together with stakeholders. These scenarios are explorations of the future and we have used [ … ]
Future Infrastructure for Energy on farms
Energy transition is happening in all sectors of society. Also on the arable farm in the field of energy use a lot is going to change. Within the AGROS work package “Infrastructure for Energy” we are analyzing the alternatives on arable farms. The EU policy document Farm2Fork as well as the Green Deal described that [ … ]
Breath analysis for disease detection in dairy cattle
Due to the challenges in (near-)real-time disease detection on dairy farms, sick cows are often found late in practice, decreasing the chance of successful treatment and recovery of the animal. Ultimately, this leads to impaired animal welfare and economic losses. Therefore, real-time, non-invasive monitoring tools are continuously being studied in research and implemented on the [ … ]
AGROS weed control
The use of crop protection products is under pressure. It is an important part of the EU’s Farm2Fork strategy, but in the Netherlands, too, efforts to reduce use have been underway for a long time. In the meantime, many agents are on the “Candidates for Substitution” list, agents that should no longer be used in [ … ]
Sensor for crop light interception
PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation, 400 – 700 nm) is the driving force for photosynthesis and thereby also for crop growth and production. Light interception by the crop is an important trait. In general, growers aim to maintain such a leaf area that the crop has (nearly) full light interception. In order to estimate this, they [ … ]
Model-driven greenhouse cultivation is getting shape
Being a grower is becoming an increasingly complex task, especially since cultivation areas have increased considerably over the last decade. More and more is at stake and the number of factors to take into account increases. Autonomous cultivation can then be a welcome support. Autonomous cultivation implies that an algorithm takes care of daily cultivation [ … ]
Using computer vision to estimate feed weight in dairy barns
The ability to measure individual feed intake has been a desire from the dairy industry for long, in order to breed for feed efficiency, but also to support farm management decisions. In addition, changes in feed intake and feeding behaviour are indicators of disease (e.g. ketosis, lameness) in dairy cows. Roughage intake control bins are [ … ]
First meeting AGROS – Exchange between the three sectors
On May 31, 2022 representatives of the 3 sectors were invited to share experiences within AGROS. Some 20 participants listened to the visions that are the basis for the activities per sector. Renske Landeweert (IMEC-One Planet) kicked off with their vision on the developments in data use. IMEC-One Planet works at the forefront of chip [ … ]
Third edition of the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge
In 2021/2022, the third edition of the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge was organised, in which lettuce had to be grown fully automated. On July 1, the results will be presented at the International Autonomous Greenhouse Event at the business unit Greenhouse Horticulture of Wageningen University & Research in Bleiswijk, The Netherlands. Since years Wageningen University & [ … ]
Watch the new video on the development of an autonomous greenhouse in AGROS
In the AGROS project ‘Towards an autonomous greenhouse’, WUR Greenhouse Horticulture researchers are working together with business partners to realise fully automated cultivation in greenhouses. The project team explains: “We have taken steps from data collection with sensors, to data-driven support of cultivation, and the development of intelligent algorithms. Soon we hope to be able [ … ]