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Québec ag minister announces $1M for horticultural innovation

On August 26, André Lamontagne announced investments totaling more than $1 million to accelerate the adoption of innovative agricultural technologies by Quebec horticultural companies.

The objective is to offer producers in the market gardening sector and the strawberry and raspberry, greenhouse, apple and potato sectors concrete technological solutions, such as robots, automated tools or intelligent sensors, to respond to their challenges related to climate change, the environment and labour scarcity. These solutions will ultimately increase the competitiveness and productivity of agricultural businesses.

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Designing a Robotic Berry Picker

Video: Designing a Robotic Berry Picker


Since blackberries must be harvested by hand, the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. To support a growing blackberry industry in Arkansas, food science associate professor Renee Threlfall is collaborating with mechanical engineering assistant professor Anthony Gunderman to develop a mechanical harvesting system. Most recently, the team designed a device to measure the force needed to pick a blackberry without damaging it. The data from this device will help inform the next stage of development and move the team closer to the goal of a fully autonomous robotic berry picker. The device was developed by Gunderman, with Yue Chen, a former U of A professor now at Georgia Tech, and Jeremy Collins, then a U of A undergraduate engineering student. To determine the force needed to pick blackberries without damage, the engineers worked with Threlfall and Andrea Myers, then a graduate student.