Orchard trial using handheld sensor to test a peach’s sweetness

Scientists are trialling new technology that takes the guesswork out of sweetness, firmness and maturity of stone fruit – all without taking a bite.

Taste test: The elusive sweetness of a peach is being tested by scientists in the Goulburn Valley. Picture: Chloe Smith

HOW can you measure the sweetness of a peach without a sniff and a bite?

A team of scientists, growers and technology companies are trying to remove the guesswork with a device so small it can be held in the palm of your hand.

Victorian tech start-up Rubens Technologies has developed a handheld sensor called a Fluorescent Spectrometer that uses light emissions to detect the sugar content, firmness and maturity of a piece of fruit.

Rubens Technologies’ Fluorescent Spectrometer in action.

The device is one of three being developed and tested specifically for Australia’s stone fruit industry over the next 2½ years.

The Food Agility Cooperative Research Centre is leading the $1.1 million project with Agriculture Victoria and in partnership with RMIT University, Summerfruit Australia and technology companies Green Atlas and Rubens Technologies to help growers match their fruit to different export markets.

Food Agility CRC chief scientist Professor David Lamb said the project was focused on the Chinese market, which prefers yellow nectarines that are sweet and low in acid with a redder skin colour, but would extend the intelligence to any export market growers were chasing.

The other two sensors being trialled – RMIT’s Bistatic LiDAR and Green Atlas’ Cartographer – operate in the orchard and help to assess each tree’s health status and predict fruit size, yield and maturity.

Rubens’ handheld sensor will be tested in packing sheds to detect sweetness, firmness and robustness for transport. “It’s the closest thing to tasting the fruit, without actually taking a bite,” Professor Lamb said.

He said data-driven decisions were key to getting the most out of export opportunities. Agriculture Victoria’s lead research of crop physiology, Dr Ian Goodwin, agrees. “Using these sensors, we could help growers tailor their practices to grow the fruit consumers want, triaging fruit in the packing sheds, and only exporting those robust enough to make the journey.”

Summerfruit Australia chief executive Trevor Ranford said the sector has spent years gaining an insight into consumer preferences, which has helped grow exports by an average of 12 per cent a year for the past decade.

“In the 2019-20 season alone the industry exported over 21,000 tonnes of stone fruit worth $89.11 million,” Mr Ranford said.

“This project takes it to the next level, helping us refine those requirements and make decisions along the supply chain to grow high-quality fruit that looks, tastes and feels perfect to Chinese consumers and consumers in more than 40 other export markets.”

MORE

AG-TECH STARTUPS TO PROMOTE TECHNOLOGY TO WORLD’S FASTEST-GROWING ECONOMY

AUSTRALIAN FARM INDEX STEADY DESPITE COVID-19 HEADWINDS

MOVES TO TACKLE IMMINENT LABOUR SHORTAGE IN FEDERAL BUDGET