INDUSTRY NEWS
Success with variable rate technology
14
VARIABLE rate technology has been used in broadacre cropping for 25 years, but transferring it to permanent horticulture production systems hasn’ t been easy. For the past five years one almond company has been making steady progress in this space and last harvest received 98.4 percent yield accuracy on one of it’ s farms. The Amaretto Almonds board challenged its senior almond orchard manager Rob Cox to find a way to apply nutrients across their orchards using variable rate application. While other companies had attempted this before and were unsuccessful, Mr Cox partnered with Inform Ag, a company he knew had the expertise and determination to deliver results. The key has been accurate yield measurements on a per-tree basis.“ The solution integrates load cells with GPS positioning equipment to capture precise yield data, which is uploaded to the cloud, processed through advanced algorithms, and visualised in a Power BI platform to deliver actionable insights,” Mr Cox said. Amaretto Orchards typically reviews yields per hectare( 110m x 100m), but the platform is flexible and analysis can be done at different scales according to requirements.“ Once areas of concern are highlighted, a deeper analysis can be conducted down to individual tree level if required,” Mr Cox said.“ In addition, the orchard can be configured with geofenced boundaries to suit specific needs— whether by irrigation valve, specialised trial area, or even a single row.” Operational decisions are driven by emerging trends that are identified from the orchard data.“ Data is transferable into a Precision Ag GPS platform, compatible with John Deere systems, allowing variable rate fertiliser applications targeted to underperforming trees,” Mr Cox said.“ Contractors simply integrate the program into their GPS units, and the spreader automatically applies fertiliser as required.” One hundred hectares of the company’ s Lake Powell orchard was reinvigorated, with the historical data from a four-year period used to
In A Nutshell- Spring 2025 Vol 26 Issue 3
identify the poorest performing trees. The height of these trees was reduced by 180cm and the sides of the trees were trimmed by 61cm.“ These measures improve airflow, spray coverage, and canopy regeneration, ultimately supporting higher yields,” Mr Cox said. Amaretto’ s performance data is also being integrated with soil type and nutritional requirements at irrigationvalve level, so instead of applying water and nutrient applications uniformly across a whole block, it can be tailored to tree needs. Mr Cox said the return on investment varies depending on how the data is applied and the yields achieved.“ Last season at our Lake Powell orchard yields were lower than forecast and the budgeted nutritional program was based on a much larger crop,” he said.“ By identifying this discrepancy at harvest, we adjusted the program
Variable rate technology is helping Amaretto Almonds optimise its orchard management.
LEFT: Amaretto Almonds senior almond orchard manager Rob Cox.
and set aside $ 150,000 worth of postharvest fertiliser.“ This single decision not only covered the full cost of the load cells at that orchard within one year but also generated additional savings.” Mr Cox said further improvements to the platform will continue to be made.“ At the field day last month, growers suggested the introduction of real-time yield alerts to help operators maintain correct operating speeds, while a simple pre-programmed button would enable operators to flag irrigation leaks or fallen trees, which would then be displayed on a live GPS map for timely rectification,” he said. Another feature currently in development is the ability to analyse yield by elevation within the orchard.“ This functionality will provide deeper insight into yield variance relative to topography, supporting more informed decisions when redeveloping orchards or planning irrigation upgrades, and helping determine the long-term viability of lower-lying areas for planting,” Mr Cox said.“ The evolving applications of this data represents a step-change in orchard management, offering new opportunities to optimise operations and reimagine how orchards are managed into the future.”