Precision orchardsPrecision Summerfruit Orchards (SF23000)
- developing profitable management strategies for Summerfruit growers
Technology in the Stonefruit research orchards at Tatura
Researchers at Agriculture Victoria are testing technologies to determine their application to support research, automation and on-farm capability.
- AI
- Mobile sensing
- UAV
- Fruit imaging and sorting
Production researchSummerfruit production research
Research focused on Production, Harvest, & Post-harvest
Video: Research and results for Summerfruit Industry from the Horticulture toolresources YouTube channel. (14 min 37 Sec)
00:00 Introduction
00:30 Production research
05:44 In the field technology
07:53 Harvest - Post harvest maturity
08:42 Export research
Agriculture Victoria, with the support of the Summerfruit industry and Horticulture Innovation Australia, is investigating future production systems to increase productivity and grower returns through improved eating quality and consumer satisfaction.
Summerfruit Australia Ltd
SUMMERFRUIT AUSTRALIA (SAL) is Australia’s National Peak Industry Body for Summerfruit Growers
Orchard managementSummerfruit orchard management
Some orchard management techniques from the Stonefruit research orchard at Tatura.
Orchard from the air
An aerial view of Agriculture Victoria's Stonefruit Research Orchard at the Tatura SmartFarm
video
Harvest / Post harvestHarvest & post-harvest research
- Research on non-destructive technologies to optimise fruit maturity at harvest
- Understand how fruit maturity affects storage and impacts fruit composition and quality
- Impacts of Methyl bromide fumigation treatment on fruit for export .
- Monitoring and modelling stonefruit export fruit along the supply chain to improve the quality of Australian fresh produce into Asian markets (Serviced Supply Chain project)
- Consumer preference research for stonefruit (summerfruits) was conducted in China and Indonesia to help growers determine the best varieties to meet each market’s requirements.
Recommendations from supply chain research
Stonefruit maturity & fruit quality
Modified Atmosphere Packaging
Minimal impact of phytosanitary irradiation on plum quality after long-term cool storage
Effects of fruit position within a tree and orchard location on fruit quality & storage disorders
Stonefruit: Preconditioning fruit to reduce storage disorders
Stonefruit: Cultivar performance for export
Stonefruit: Predicting impacts on fruit quality
Stonefruit: Effect of air freight temperature on fruit quality 
Stonefruit: Using remote loggers to monitor temperatures of export fruit
How to use monitoring technologies
Using non-destructive equipment to measure stone fruit quality 
Handheld Sensor: Prototype for fruit chain quality management technology
DA Software
DA meter IAD maturity classes: Database
Stonefruit Methylbromide fumigation experiments for export markets
Stonefruit export market research
Stonefruit maturity and fruit quality
The research project, SF15001 Comparing Stonefruit ripening, quality and volatile composition, was funded by Agriculture Victoria with co-investment from Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited using the Summerfruit levy and funds from the Australian Government.
Stonefruit harvest maturity impacts fruit quality
Christine Frisina from Agriculture Victoria discusses how important it is to have ethylene production occurring in stonefruit prior to harvest. This ensures high quality fruit get to customers.
video: Harvest maturity impacts fruit qualityConsumer preference research
Full copies of the consumer preference research reports are available to levy payers and members of Summerfruit Australia
Summerfruit Australia
Researchers & eventsResearchers and grower meetings
Meet the researchers involved in stronefruit science.
See the events that growers and industry members attended from 2016 to 2021 (includes information from past events).
Stonefruit grower events 2016-2021
Stonefruit Research Roadshows highlighting research from the Stonefruit research orchard in Tatura and research from Agribiosciences, Bundoora.
Learn more