Born in Emilia-Romagna the largest agronomic monitoring network in Italy, where field sensors and artificial intelligence support fruit growers on multiple fronts, providing precise indications on when and how to irrigate, for example, or on the appropriate time to apply a treatment against an insect or pathogen. This model of digital agriculture of the latest generation, which faces the problems in the field reduces intervention times, thus increasing efficiency and sustainabilitywas developed by the tech company xFarm Technologies And Conserve Italy, a point of reference in Europe for fruit and vegetable preserves and owner of well-known brands such as Valfrutta, Yoga, Cirio, Derby Blue and Jolly Colombani. A project that started at full speed in March 2024 and will have a duration of three yearswith the aim of giving agronomic support to 200 farms present in Romagna who participate in supply chain projects for planned industrial fruit plants and supply, through 7 cooperatives, apricots, yellow peaches, nectarines, percoche, pears and apples.
There agronomic monitoring network it is spread over well 700 hectares and involves the installation of 600 sensors provided by xFarm Technologies to the conferring companies Conserve Italy. From weather stations to soil moisture and leaf wetness sensors, these tools, whose placement in orchards has already begun, will make it possible to create monitoring cells capable of precisely detecting the environmental conditions of the different areas in which the producers are located. This will allow agricultural companies to use the equipment in an optimized and shared way, so that each can receive one detailed reportingnecessary for internal agronomic choices, while the technicians of Conserve Italy they can have one overview Always updated in real time.
Not just monitoring: innovation also comes from experimentation
The data collected by the sensors will also be used to identify, through field tests, the better agronomic strategies for orchard management. Indeed, Conserve Italy and xFarm Technologies they are studying protocols and identifying the 10 companies where the project will start experimentation with new technologies for the defence of crops from pathogens and theirrigation efficiency of the lands.
On this occasion, innovative tools such as intelligent traps for the automatic recognition of insects thanks to algorithms Artificial Intelligence (AI), forecast models And Decision Support Systems (DSS) which help to identify the ideal time to carry out the treatments, best protecting the crops and, at the same time, reducing the number of interventions. The technology will also be tested Smart Sprayinguntil now exploited for the variable rate distribution of liquid products on specialized crops, also for fruit counting and recognition of the state of ripeness, through special computer vision algorithms.
“This project represents a turning point for the digitalisation of fruit and vegetable supply chains: thanks to new digital technologies it is possible to monitor such vast and heterogeneous areas in an effective manner. Fruit plants are notoriously among the most complex to manage, as they present a large number of possible problems, which are not always easy to recognize and treat. Having a large amount of data available from different production areas will not only allow you to make better decisions, but also more timely ones, with an increase in efficiency and a reduction in interventions, with a view to sustainability” – he comments Giovanni Causapruno, Global Head of B2B at xFarm Technologies.
“VWe want to continue to give a future to fruit growing in the Emilia-Romagna area where the majority of our agricultural social base is concentrated, which is why we are committed to implementing interventions to support producers also on the precision agriculture front. – he declares Daniele Piva, Agricultural Production Director of Conserve Italia – Collaboration with xFarm Technologies it is strategic because it allows us to accompany us towards more sustainable production, both for farms and for the environment, in a transition that is now essential to deal with climate change. With weather stations and sensors installed, farmers will have detailed information to support their decisions. This data will cover a large territory, which goes well beyond the 200 agricultural companies involved, and can be made available to the technicians of agricultural cooperatives also for crops dedicated to the fresh market”.
xFarm Technologies
xFarm Technologies is a tech company that aims to digitalize the agri-food sector, providing innovative tools that can support agricultural entrepreneurs and stakeholders in managing their companies. xFarm Technologies today it supports the work of 340,000 agricultural companies, belonging to more than 50 supply chains and present on 4 million hectares in over 100 countries around the world.
Conserve Italy
Conserve Italy is a cooperative group based in San Lazzaro di Savena (BO). Leader in Italy in food processing, it brings together over 14,000 Italian agricultural producers gathered in 39 cooperatives and processes around 600,000 tonnes of fruit, tomatoes and vegetables in 12 production plants (9 in Italy, 2 in France and 1 in Spain). The consolidated turnover for the 2022-23 financial year is 1.14 billion euros. Conserve Italy It employs around 3,000 people in Italy and abroad, including permanent and seasonal workers, and owns historic Made in Italy brands such as Cirio, Valfrutta, Yoga, Derby Blue and Jolly Colombani.
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