Washington State orchardist Neal Carter, co-founder of Okanagan Specialty Fruits (OSF) and creator of the nonbrowning apple, recently unveiled a plan to revitalize the U.S. apple industry through the integration of genome editing, robotics, and artificial intelligence.
Carter outlined his vision in a white paper, Traits and Tech: Designing the Orchard of the Future, which was recently released during an open house at the company's orchards and Moses Lake processing facility. As part of the full-day event, the company also showcased its high-speed fruit slicing and packing operations, offered live demonstrations of AI and autonomous orchard tools, and hosted two expert symposiums on agricultural innovation at Big Bend Community College.
"Escalating labor costs are the primary challenge to the continued viability of the U.S. apple industry," said Carter, noting that labor now represents more than 60 percent of total production costs. "A radical transformation is essential for the industry's survival."
Carter wants to use genome editing to change apple tree architecture. He proposed altering the apple's germplasm so that it produces its fruit at a single height, facilitating the nearly full automation of apple production and harvesting through robotics and AI.
"These changes will significantly reduce production costs, support sustainable agricultural practices, and ensure the industry's continued economic viability," Carter said. Projected savings of $8,000 to $10,000 per acre could be realized over current production costs of $14,000 to $16,000 per acre.
"Though the apple industry has continuously adapted over the past 40 years by adopting new horticultural approaches, such as increasing the density of tree plantings, employing various trellis structures, and developing new dwarfing rootstocks it has maximized its ability to change the system through physical tools," Carter said. "Some of these practices are now working to exacerbate the challenges that are pushing smaller operations into the red. Improved genetics represent the industry's only real option to implement a market-disrupting, game-changing system that can effectively reduce the high labor demands that are economically unsustainable."
OSF has already demonstrated its biotechnology expertise by breeding a nonbrowning trait—achieved by silencing a gene that directs the oxidative browning process—into six varieties of Arctic® apples.
Carter's vision for the farm of the future has global implications and is applicable to pears and other orchard crops.
Carter was among the first to prioritize sustainability by introducing state-of-the-art agronomic practices to his orchards, including data-driven automated drip irrigation and overhead cooling systems use. He is also an early implementer of precision ag equipment to monitor and provide management data for all climatic, soil, pest and disease conditions, increasing on-farm efficiencies.
His vision for the farm of the future builds upon OSF's mission of using science and technology to reduce emissions and food waste, achieve greater operational efficiencies and expand consumer access to fresh fruit.
For more information:
Rebecca Catlett
Okanagan Specialty Foods
[email protected]
https://osfruits.com/