The Productive Landscape: NatureTech for Profit and Planet
How can technology enable delivery of food, nature recovery, and climate resilience - all at once?
The Head of the Environment Agency is asked: what's the national plan for dealing with land use pressures, plus you’ll hear from technologists and land managers working on nature-based and tech-enabled solutions for water, soils and climate adaptation.
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.
Sugarox is delighted to share that we have been recognised by AgriBusiness Review as one of the Top 5 UK Biostimulant Ventures to Watch in 2024.
Our dedicated team of plant biologists and organic chemists is leading the way in developing precision formulations based on single active ingredients (AIs) inspired by powerful plant molecules. Our first product, a biostimulant based on trehalose-6-phosphate, is currently undergoing field evaluation. Results so far show promise in boosting wheat yields by up to 22%.
Working the Agri-TechE network:
We believe that collaboration can accelerate the adoption of our cutting-edge biostimulants and make a meaningful impact on crop productivity and sustainability.
We are building SugaROx to become a world-leading venture focused on the science of crop stimulation and early stages of product development. Our first product is 2-3 years away from launch. Through a B2B business model, we want to partner with go-to-market channels to accelerate R&D and sell our products to farmers in the UK and key agricultural countries.
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.
The search is on for forward-thinking farmers to take part in paid trials exploring soil health, the potential of pulses and sustainable slug control.
The British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) is looking to increase the number of farmers taking part in its Defra-funded projects bringing scientific innovation onto real farms. The number of on-farm trialists will double in two of its three current projects.
Participants are required to run trials on their farms, and to share findings and observations within and outside the project. In return they receive full back up and support from BOFIN and other project partners, as well as a payment for their involvement.
Oxfordshire farmer and founder of BOFIN Tom Allen-Stevens said: “We’ve had a hugely successful year across three projects. Farmers have proven across the trials and monitoring that they can deliver scientifically valid data, adding real value to the progress we’re making towards a more sustainable agriculture.
“We’re now looking to build on this success in 2024-25 and welcome farmers wanting to help shape the future of our industry to register their interest via our website.”
BOFIN co-partners with scientists and researchers to deliver three projects which put farmers centre stage to trial innovative ideas and techniques:
The Nitrogen Efficient Plants for Climate Smart Arable Cropping Systems (NCS) project currently has 10 farmers carrying out trials and BOFIN is looking for an additional 10 for the 2024-5 season. Participating farmers who are known as Pulse Pioneers compare the effects of pulse crops on the health of their soil and subsequent crops.
Meanwhile the Thriving Roots Underpin Total soil Health (TRUTH) project is creating a farmer-led platform to quantify and evaluate soil/root interactions and explore the capabilities of a novel sensor. The farmers – known as Root Rangers – are trained to use soil testing tools to inform practices and evaluate novel genetics and bioproducts. The first year saw 10 farmers sign up as Root Rangers, and BOFIN is looking to enlist another 10 for 2024-5.
Finally, the Strategies Leading to Improved Management and Enhanced Resilience against Slugs (SLIMERS) project is trialling ‘slug resistant’ wheat and developing two commercial services from current proof-of-concept: Patch prediction and precision mapping, and autonomous slug treatment using nematodes. Farmers involved are known as Slug Sleuths, and with 27 already on board the team is looking to boost this to 30 for 2024-5, with 10 of those trialling slug resistant wheat.
Cambridgeshire farmer Rhys Jones, who is a Slug Sleuth and Root Ranger said it was important that farmers are part of the conversation about the industry’s future. “Being involved with agricultural trials helps us to look at new ways of doing things and means we can influence the direction we go in,” he said.
Slug Sleuth Andrew Barr, who farms in Kent added that learning was a vital part of success in farming: “There’s so much we need to learn, and farming keeps changing and evolving. I’ve been frustrated in the past that academic trials were not targeted to what farmers really needed solutions for, or that the results of the academic trials were not communicated to farmers. That’s not the case if we do the on-farm trials that we think are necessary, in conjunction with the academics.”
Any farmers interested in taking part in trials and playing a part in the future of farming can find out more and register interest by visiting the BOFIN website www.bofin.org.uk/getinvolved
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Resistance 2024, the 9th in a series of conferences, is brought to you by Rothamsted Research to showcase the latest situational analysis and research on pesticide resistance in the UK and globally.
Sessions will include Molecular Mechanisms and Genomics, Evolution and Selection and Monitoring, Field Studies and IPM, and world-leading experts from academia, industry, and government will share knowledge spanning pesticide resistance in insects, pathogens, and weeds.
With such diverse speakers, we likewise expect to attract a diverse audience. The Conference Committee will take every opportunity to ensure that a wide range of individuals’ interests will be represented. This is always a popular meeting and spaces will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
The registration fee of £415.00 (including VAT) will include attendance for the three days of the conference, poster sessions, refreshments and lunch each day, an evening reception buffet on the first evening, a conference dinner on the second evening, and a programme book and access to online abstracts.
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.
In September 2023, a significant legal challenge brought by Corteva against Inari Agriculture has thrust the issue of seed deposits into the spotlight, and affords a useful opportunity to remind ourselves on the legal requirements surrounding the deposit of biological material to support a patent application.
Corteva alleges that Inari has infringed its patents by obtaining Corteva’s patented seeds, illegally importing them into Europe, genetically editing the seeds, and seeking patent protection in the US for the modified traits. Corteva further claims that Inari have used a third party to misappropriate Corteva’s seeds from the America Type Culture Collection (a recognised institute for the deposit of biological material such as seeds and microorganisms).
The role of biological deposits in patent law
Patent law grants a monopoly for an invention in exchange for disclosing the nature of the invention. For this reason, it is a requirement that an invention is described in a patent application in a manner which enables it to be reproduced. For some biological inventions, a written description is not enough to allow a third party to reproduce the invention, and access to biological material, such as seeds or microorganisms, may be necessary to satisfy the legal requirement of enablement.
The Bupadest Treaty governs the deposit of such material, allowing for a single biological deposit to be made, which is recognised by other Treaty members through reciprocal arrangements. Many jurisdictions, including Europe, Japan, and Korea, require that the deposit is made before the filing date. This requirement ensures that the deposit information is provided in the published patent application, as part of the teaching of how to practice the invention. In Europe at least, a priority document must contain an enabling disclosure of the invention, making it crucial to include deposit information in the first filing. In contrast, in the US, a deposit can be filed much later, up to a date which is set in the Notice of Allowance, posing a challenge for US applicants to meet overseas requirements.
Patent applications must include the deposit date and the deposit accession number. A provisional deposit date and accession number will be provided by a Deposit Authority upon initial receipt of the deposit, but if after testing the sample proves not to be viable and a new sample needs to be supplied, the deposit date may change. In order to ensure that the correct deposit date and accession number are included in a patent application, starting the deposit process well in advance of a priority filing is advisable to ensure that the viability test can be completed before the filing date, and that the information in the patent application will be correct.
Third party access to deposits
A key issue in the Corteva v Inari lawsuit pertains to the issue of third party access to the deposited seeds.
Inari has responded to the allegations, by arguing that the patented seeds deposited with the ATCC are available to the public without restriction after a patent grants. They contend that by depositing the seeds, Corteva authorised their availability and transportation of the seeds for commercial purposes.
Under the Budapest Treaty, an International Deposit Authority is obliged to keep a deposit for the later of 30 years from the initial deposit, or 5 years from the last request for a sample. During this time, any natural or legal person can request a sample of the deposit, and the International Deposit Authority must furnish it to them provided that they have rights to the sample in accordance with patent law which governs the patent or patent application referring to that sample.
For patent applications before the EPO, access to deposited material can be restricted to a nominated independent expert, provided that a request for restricted access is made within a specified time limit.
However, this restriction expires upon grant, upon which date, if the deposited material falls within the scope of the granted claims it may then be accessed by any third party, but in accordance with patent law it may only be used for experimental purposes only. Similar provisions apply in the US and Japan. Inari have defended their use of the seed deposits, stating in a court filing “In exchange for the grant of these patents, Corteva assured the public that the deposits would be available to the public without restriction when the patents issued….Corteva now seeks to renege on that promise.”
Conclusions
The Corteva v Inari case highlights that there may be risks associated with deposit of biological material. There are particular risks in a situation where a patent has been granted but the deposited material does not fall within the scope of the granted claims. If an invention can be described in a reproducible manner without the need for a biological deposit, then this may be preferable, provided that the requirements for enablement are clearly met.
This case underscores the complexity of patenting biological material and the critical importance of understanding the requirements of International deposit requirements to safeguard intellectual property.
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.
Providing sub-Saharan smallholders with a cost-effective alternative to expensive artificial nitrogen fertiliser has come a step closer for British agri-biotech company Legume Technology, following the award of a grant from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
The Nottinghamshire company, which has been working on microbial biofertilisers for more than twenty years, will receive £2.15m from the foundation and the UK government.
The project will help develop biofertiliser technology as an affordable, accessible agricultural input for small-scale agricultural producers (SSPs) in Africa. The biofertiliser could increase smallholder yields in a sustainable, environmentally friendly manner and improve outcomes for millions of families across the region.
“These farmers face many challenges,” says Dr Bruce Knight, co-founder and managing director of Legume Technology, “of which by far the most significant is access to nitrogen fertilisers.
“The absence of affordable fertiliser options significantly impacts agricultural productivity and livelihoods,” he says. “Synthetic fertiliser is not only too expensive for many of these families, but increased use would also bring its own environmental problems.”
Legume Technology’s work focuses on natural microbes – bacteria and fungi – that have a unique ability to capture the nitrogen that makes up nearly 80% of the air we breathe, making it available to crops. Farmers in the developed world have been using these ‘biological nitrogen-fixers’ (BNFs) for years, but generally they only work on a specific crop type, the ‘legume’ family that includes peas, beans and pulses.
The project will find out how much nitrogen these microbes can fix from the atmosphere, when used in non-legume cereal crops like maize.
“The grant from the Gates Foundation and the UK government will allow us to embark on a new programme of research to identify microbes that can work with non-legume staple crops such as maize, millets, sorghum and cassava,” explains Dr Knight.
As part of the project, Legume Technology will work with research institutes, specialist microbe ‘banks’, innovation centres and universities around the world to collect and assess 50 BNF bacterial strains that are already known to have nitrogen-fixation effects.
The University of Nottingham, Legume Technology’s long-time research partner, will screen these strains in high-tech testing chambers that use ‘marked’ nitrogen to identify the best-performing strains and understand their potential. The top ten strains will then be independently reviewed by the James Hutton Institute, one of the UK’s most-respected agricultural science specialists. Legume Technology will also partner with the Centre for Process Innovation, a government-funded ‘innovation catalyst’ that helps companies develop biotechnology products.
Field-scale trials will follow, to validate the laboratory findings and to check that the microbes perform as expected.
“The second part of the programme is no less exciting,” says Dr Knight. “The foundation’s grant will also allow us to develop specialist packaging for these SSP products.
“Because BNF products are live, quality packaging is very important to maintain shelf life and quality once they’ve left the factory.”
Typically, products are shipped in sterilised packaging containing enough product to treat the seed for tens of hectares. But the average sub-Saharan smallholding is less than ½ a hectare in size, making these packs too expensive and unwieldy for distribution in Africa. Domestically produced biofertilisers are available, but provenance, quality and performance are usually sub-standard.
“It’s another major constraint for SSPs,” Dr Knight points out. “Availability of high-quality crop inputs, in low-volume packaging, is a huge limitation on realising the potential of biofertiliser products in many African countries.
“There’s also lack of awareness around the existence of these biofertiliser products, and that they work,” Dr Knight adds. “The project includes in-country commercialisation trials to validate the product, demonstrate its reliability and show the gross benefits of yield and quality. We can then investigate logistics and registrations, with a view to developing commercial partnerships.”
The grant from the Gates Foundation and the UK government will also enable the design, build and installation of a new packaging line for SSP products at Legume Technology’s factory in East Bridgford. Dr Knight likens the proposed pack design to a crisp packet. “It’s easily portable and highly affordable, while keeping the contents fresh and free from contamination.
“Yet within that small bag, the Micropack, will be a microbe that has the power to transform the lives of millions of African smallholders by making their crops grow bigger and better, with more productive harvests, without any environmental side-effects.”
“It’s a very simple proposition, but a complete win-win project. We’re delighted with this grant and the opportunities it gives us to improve agriculture’s productivity and sustainability.”
Farmers in the developed world have been using ‘biological nitrogen-fixers’ (BNFs) for years, but generally they work only on a specific crop type, the ‘legume’ family that includes peas, beans and pulses. The new project will try to identify microbes that work in staple crops such as maize, above.
Legume Technology co-founder Dr Bruce Knight, with the ‘Micropack’ packaging that will be developed for African smallholders.
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The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.
PheroSyn, an innovative agricultural technology company specializing in the development of insect pheromones for sustainable crop protection, announced today that it has secured investment from Tall Grass Ventures (TGV), a leading Canadian venture capital firm focused on early-stage agri-food tech startups. This funding will accelerate PheroSyn’s mission to replace harmful chemical pesticides with more sustainable alternatives.
A spin-out from the renowned chemical ecology research group at Rothamsted Research in the UK, PheroSyn is committed to providing farmers and growers with effective and sustainable pest management solutions. The company’s groundbreaking pheromone-based products offer a safer and more targeted approach to pest management, minimizing the environmental impact of traditional pesticides.
“We are delighted to partner with a firm that shares our vision for a more sustainable future in agriculture,” said Dr. Mary Ellis, Co-founder and CEO of PheroSyn. “This investment is a significant step towards advancing the growth of our company, and will enable us to expand our product portfolio, accelerate research and development, and reach a wider market with our innovative solutions. Ultimately, farmers and growers across the world are facing renewed pressures with fewer products in their toolbox, and this support will allow us to scale and expand our solutions to help protect crops while also preserving the earth’s biodiversity.”
PheroSyn’s proprietary pheromone production methods allow for the creation of cost-effective and environmentally friendly pest management products. By harnessing the power of natural insect communication systems, the company’s novel products offer a targeted and effective way to manage pests, while preserving biodiversity and minimizing the risk of resistance development.
“Quality of founders is at the top of the list in the venture world, and we found Mary and Daniel excellent to work with, very down to earth, and extremely motivated to succeed in this endeavour.” said Chris Edwards, Managing Partner at Tall Grass Ventures. “Insect pheromones are not easy to synthesize accurately, and so PheroSyn’s unique technological approach coupled with a market waiting for a solution, really made us stop and take notice.”
About Tall Grass Ventures
Tall Grass Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in early-stage companies that are reimagining the future of agriculture and food. With a team of experienced investors and operators, TGV partners with visionary entrepreneurs to build category-defining businesses. To learn more visit www.tallgrass.vc
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The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.
Mosses, liverworts, ferns and algae may offer an exciting new research frontier in the global challenge of protecting crops from the threat of disease.
These non-flowering plants are often regarded as unsophisticated compared to their flowering relatives – which include major crops.
However, new research carried out by the John Innes Centre has found that non-flowering bryophytes, and mosses in particular, contain sophisticated immune receptor repertoires.
“The non-vascular and non-flowering bryophytes are often thought of as simple predecessors of flowering plants, but we find that mosses in particular have an expanded set of immune receptors that are perhaps the most complex amongst plants,” said Dr Phil Carella, a group leader at the John Innes Centre and author of the study.
Biotechnological techniques revealed that NLR immune receptor domains which protect plants against pathogens are transferable between flowering and non-flowering plants.
Dr Carella added, “The exciting part of this study is that the diverse immunity found in non-flowering plants like mosses are transferable, so they offer us a source of new resistance genes against pathogens.”
The discovery opens exciting new possibilities for engineering immunity in major crops which are facing a growing threat from emerging and rapidly evolving pathogens exacerbated by climate change.
Plants have developed leucine-rich-repeat (NLR) immune receptors to detect pathogens over millions of years. The NLRs of flowering plants is a well-studied subject, but much less is known about the form and function of receptors from divergent lineages of non-flowering, non-vascular bryophytes.
Bryophytes diverged from flowering plants over 500 million years ago, and knowledge of their immune systems is limited. Using a combination of genetic and computational tools, the team focused on the N-terminal domain of NLR immune receptors that encode the biochemical basis of plant immunity.
They found that there was remarkable structural and functional similarity between immune receptor domains across diverse plant lineages, even though the genetic sequences of these domains was highly variable.
By using transient expression techniques, they transferred immune receptor genes obtained from non-flowering plants like the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha into a flowering plant Nicotiana benthamiana, a type of dwarf tobacco.
Diverse immune receptor domains activated strong immune responses when transiently expressed in flowering plants. The reverse was also true, as researchers found they could functionally transfer an immune domain from flowering plants into to non-flowering plants.
The fact that these domains are transferable and function across plant lineages is a breakthrough in understanding and offers practical applications for crop protection.
“This means that we can use non-flowering plants like mosses or liverworts as a source of new resistance genes against crop pathogens,” explained Dr Carella, “We show that we can indeed leverage the vast evolutionary diversity of immune receptors from across the entirety of the plant kingdom. So, our scope to engineer immunity is therefore a lot larger than we originally thought.”
The team is also exploring the evolutionary novelties encoded in bryophytes as a source of gene discovery that can be used to protect crops against diseases.
Future experiments will seek to identify pathogen molecules that trigger immunity across diverse plants.
The researchers will also try to understand how the components of the immune receptor come together to activate an immune response.
The research also offers biological insight, said Dr Carella, “It is often considered that flowering plants are the pinnacle of evolution. But our study shows that there is likely a complexity of immune receptor biochemistries in non-flowering plants, which could offer a new reservoir for immunity if we can transfer these into crops.”
The N-terminal domains of NLR immune receptors exhibit structural and functional similarities across plant lineages, appears in the July issue of The Plant Cell.
Image Caption – Marchantia polymorpha liverwort colony growing in an urban environment. Here both male and female umbrella-like reproductive structures can be seen
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The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.
James Hutton Limited, on behalf of the blueberry breeding consortium, contracted Delytics Ltd in 2020 to help them select new varieties that will be consistently liked by consumers.
Delytics is assisted the consortium to pinpoint blueberry varieties that will appeal to multiple consumer groups with distinct taste preferences. The aim was to track how each variety matures over time to determine its taste development and expected acceptance by specific target markets.
Dr Susan McCallum (pictured), who runs James Hutton’s blueberry breeding programme, says Delytics’ recognised expertise in crop taste optimisation is crucial for their consumer-focused breeding programme.
Dr McCallum says, “We are looking to breed blueberries for consistent high quality taste. It’s really important for us to understand the science behind the taste so we know which varieties will appeal to consumers. Delytics is helping us achieve that by analysing how the Brix and acid changes over time in each variety, how much consumers will like them, and the best time to pick for optimum taste.”
Previous sensory research conducted by the James Hutton Institute highlighted variations in taste preferences for blueberries in different consumer groups. The most notable of these was between male and female consumers, with males tending to prefer eating small tart tasting blueberries in their porridge or yoghurt and females preferring to snack on larger, sweeter blueberries.
Dr McCallum says the work the breeding consortium is doing with Delytics has the potential to allow them to intentionally breed blueberry varieties that meet the taste expectations of specific consumers.
The monitoring framework being used for this project was initially designed by Delytics to help The James Hutton Institute raspberry breeding programme develop a new consumer-centric breeding protocol in 2018. Delytics’ monitoring protocols are now also being used to help ensure the majority of James Hutton bred blueberries and cherries will be liked by consumers.
Dr McCallum says, “Delytics is playing a really important role in helping us understand the role that Brix and acid plays in providing the flavour in our berries so we can ensure the ones we select will be consistently liked by consumers. The data analysis they are doing will also tell us the best time to pick the berries to make sure the flavour comes through every time.”
“We want growers to be confident that when they invest in our cultivars and follow our growing and picking instructions, they will get an ongoing good return.”
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The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.
Delytics has helped the globally recognised James Hutton Institute create a new breeding protocol to ensure the majority of their raspberries are liked by consumers.
In 2018, the James Hutton Institute contracted Delytics to assist in the study: `Feasibility of developing a Novel Breeding Methodology to Improve Berry Flavour’. Supported through funding from Innovate UK, the project was commissioned to improve raspberry flavour by developing new breeding models and decision support tools. Prior to working with Delytics, the James Hutton research team was unable to validate how the sensory data they were collecting from taste panels matched consumer taste preferences. Delytics assisted them by providing a customised consumer liking measurement protocol, which enabled them to identify the genetic regions for liking in raspberries and better understand what the consumer response would be to various raspberry breeds.
James Hutton Institute project leader, Dr Julie Graham, says Delytics’ helped the research team `take a big step forward’ by understanding how to select raspberry seedlings from the breeding plots that will meet the taste expectations of UK consumers.
Dr Graham says, “Being able to combine Delytics’ understanding of consumer liking with our understanding of genetics has allowed us to tailor our breeding programme to produce raspberries that consistently meet the taste profile that consumers want. We can now analyse the taste data alongside the genetic markers in the raspberries and we have identified the key regions that are really important for flavour.”
Delytics’ ability to measure the Brix, acid and liking of individual berries from only 0.3 ml of juice was a key factor in helping the research team understand the full range of flavours and maturity variability for selected raspberry varieties. This information will now allow breeders to predict consumer response before harvest and develop science-based maturity standards to ensure a consistently good eating experience.
One of the key focuses of the feasibility study was to understand how to effectively breed soft fruit in the UK for consistently great flavour. Consistent berry flavour has been a key consumer attribute that has challenged UK breeders and growers, resulting in low consumer acceptance.
Dr Graham says, “Only about a third of raspberries tested in UK supermarkets last year were liked by consumers, so that’s two thirds of consumers not enjoying the taste experience. The understanding Delytics has given us about taste and consumer liking is massively valuable when it comes to breed selection. Raspberries can yield well, pick well and withstand pests and diseases – but if they don’t taste good, we just won’t get the consumer uplift.”
“For us as a breeding organisation, being able to breed raspberries that we know are going to be liked by the majority of consumers is massive for us.”
Delytics assisted James Hutton Institute to validate the consumer liking of one of their own varieties that they already suspected would be well received by consumers. Being able to verify that variety will meet the taste expectations of most consumers has given them the confidence to run with that variety and use similar quantification methods for other varieties.
Dr Graham says, “Integrating Delytics’ consumer liking tools into our breeding program was really, really useful for us. The easy to implement step-by-step process they gave us is highly effective and transferrable to other crops. It will be used in our blueberry breeding programme next season, and we can see many opportunities for it to add value to other fresh processed crops.”
“Breeders can now base their breed selections on hard science rather than their own preferences, which will ensure the breeds selected will have the broadest possible taste appeal.”
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The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.
Consumer acceptability hit a five-year high for Australian table grapes in 2020 with increased demand and prices – just one year after Delytics helped the industry put new maturity standards in place.
A three-year project led by Delytics on behalf of the Australian Table grape Association (ATGA) increased the demand and value of table grapes by ensuring they are liked by the majority of consumers. The project Table grape supply chain quality (TG17002) was a strategic levy investment in the Hort Innovation Table Grape Fund. It was funded using the table grape research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government.
Retail monitoring carried out over the 2019/20 season recorded the highest consumer acceptability in five years with an overall consumer acceptability of 79%. This was a 20 percentage point increase from the 2016/17 season, the year before the project started.
The retail monitoring was supported by Nielsen Homescan data, which showed increased consumer demand and prices over the same period. The Nielsen Harvest to Home report for the 52 weeks to 1 December 2019 recorded an average 10.1% increase in volume for Australian table grapes and an associated 5% increase in price. Following Covid-19, table grape sales volume dropped by only 0.4%, compared to an all fruit volume drop of 3.3%. Over the same period, dollar sales increased by 5.7%, despite a slight drop in sales volume, marking a 6% increase in price.
The increased demand and prices delivered by this project achieved a key outcome in the Hort Innovation Australia Table Grape Strategic Investment Plan.
Horticulture Innovation Australia General Manager, Data and Extension, Dr Anthony Kachenko says, “Delytics’ very adaptive and inclusive approach resulted in a quality outcome, and helped industry pivot their thinking. Their work certainly made a difference and was very well received.”
Delytics’ analysis of the maturity monitoring data collected during the first two seasons of the project helped the industry agree on a minimum retail acceptability of 80% and the minimum maturity standards required to deliver that.
The new standards were formally announced by the ATGA in October 2019, with full supply chain adoption set for the 2020/21 season.
ATGA CEO Jeff Scott says, “Delytics added huge value to our industry by transforming the raw monitoring data into easy-to-read graphics that highlighted immaturity over a four-month period of harvest. Their analytical skills gave us the tangible evidence we’d been looking for, for 10 years, to help us decide the evidence-based minimum standards needed for growers to harvest their fruit at the optimum maturity. We want our grapes to provide a consistently good eating experience, throughout the whole season. The increased consumer demand already achieved by this project supports previous research showing that consumers will buy more fruit when they are confident it will taste good.”
Jeff adds, “From an export point of view, importers will always pay a high price for good quality mature fruit. Table grapes are now the largest exporter by value of all fresh fruit out of Australia. Over the past 12 months our export sales have gone from $555 million to a record $623 million.”
Jeff views the new maturity standards as a win-win for the entire industry and grower, Glenn Pearmine agrees. Glenn owns Gleniecy table grape vineyard in Emerald, Central Queensland.
Prior to using the Delytics system included in the project, Glenn harvested his fruit over three or four picks, with much of it immature. This was evidenced by prices dropping within a week after the initial new season surge. After adopting the new standards in late 2019, Glenn picked 90% of his crop in the first pick followed by a small clean up pick – and prices stayed strong the whole season.
Glenn says, “It gave me a tool to manage my vineyard based on maturity levels. Last year [before the new standards] we picked over an eight-week period and this year we picked over a two-week period. That’s a huge big difference. By just holding off for an extra week before we picked we got a more consistent pick and the best prices we’ve had in nine years.”
You can hear Glenn talk about the benefits he received here.
The views expressed in this Member News article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Agri-TechE.
Minimum maturity standards recommended by Delytics have improved the consumer acceptability of New Zealand navel oranges for nine seasons in a row, with an immediate lift from 67% to 96% in the first season.
The retail monitoring data Delytics analyses for Citrus New Zealand has shown a consistently high consumer acceptance for navel oranges since the industry adopted the new standards in 2016. The navel orange maturity standards are an integral part of the independent clearance process that Delytics designed for Citrus New Zealand in 2015.
This graph shows that the retail compliance of New Zealand navel oranges has never dropped below 80% since the new standards were adopted, despite some very challenging growing seasons. Even though the 2024 results only cover the first four weeks, it indicates the expected fruit quality for the rest of the season.
Citrus New Zealand Research Manager, Sally Anderson says, “These results are a really great outcome for New Zealand citrus growers. It shows the investment that we’ve put into developing, organising and managing our quality programme is paying off for growers by having a positive affect at the retail level. Delytics’ analysis of the retail monitoring data we collect has given the sector insight into how maturity functions every season and shown that there is real value in harvesting when the fruit is ready.”
Delytics Managing Director, Mark Loeffen says, “This is a great example of the long-term value gained from putting processes in place to make sure fruit is harvested and sent to market at the right maturity. We’ve seen many examples where the investment made to set and adopt maturity standards has provided continuous benefits in each successive season the standards are followed. These benefits flow through the whole supply chain to the end consumer and the return on investment is typically very high.”
Delytics specialises in designing maturity standards and clearance processes that match consumer taste preferences in specific markets. They are currently focusing on helping marketing companies with licensed growers in multiple growing regions make sure their branded fruit delivers a consistent high quality eating experience, no matter where it is grown or bought.
Mark says, “Ensuring fruit consistently provides the taste experience that consumers want is definitely worth the investment. Putting processes in place to prevent immature fruit from entering the supply chain will help drive demand, increase repeat purchases, and enable branded fruit to be marketed as premium.”
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SugaROx
BOFIN
Rothamsted Research
HGF Limited
Legume Technology
PheroSyn Ltd
John Innes Centre
Delytics Limited
Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE)
