Current tree fruit production applies crop management products uniformly across each orchard, however, orchards exhibit substantial variation across them and between trees. Even neighbouring trees have very different growth and crop loads. Treating all trees uniformly regardless of their size, density, crop load, or health limits yield, is inefficient, and detrimental to the orchard productivity and the environment. This project will develop a Precision Variable Rate Spray (PVRS) machine, control software system, and new systems for measuring and assessing each individual trees' status. These components will be combined into products and services that will transform the tree fruit industry and deliver new levels of environmentally sustainable crop production, increasing efficiency and yield whilst lowering costs and environmental impacts. Integral to this approach is that every individual tree in the orchard will be assessed, its requirements calculated, and then treated with a tailored quantity of crop management products. This will reduce wastage and improve yields. Led by one of the UK's leading and forward-thinking agronomy companies, this project includes a range of high quality growers, a large top fruit marketing organisation, a software engineering company specialising in global positioning systems, a top fruit digital agronomy company, a crop phenotyping specialist, a robotics company, a horticultural engineering company, the UK's agricultural chemical regulation organisation, and three academic institutions specialising in agricultural engineering and robotics, computer science, economics, and horticultural agronomy. Working closely across the tree fruit industry's production chain ensures that the products and services developed during the project are designed for the grower and meet their requirements. The consortium's network allows us to engage with the wider fruit industry. The project will showcase the products and services to the horticulture sector with a range of knowledge exchange activities and field demonstrations. During the project we will assess the new spray system's benefits relative to conventional spraying, and report on the economic and environmental advantages of investing in Precision Variable Rate Spraying. At the end of the project, UK growers will have access to the most advanced and efficient tree fruit crop management system available, and understand the environmental and economic benefits of using the system.

RestPoll is a highly transdisciplinary project aiming to provide society with tools to reverse wild pollinator declines and to position Europe as a global leader in pollinator restoration. RestPoll will, together with stakeholders ranging from individual land managers to governments, co-design, evaluate, and refine measures and cross-sectoral approaches to restore pollinators and their services. The RestPoll consortium combines the expertise of natural and social scientists, NGOs, businesses, and ministries. Stakeholders along the food value chain will be engaged through newly developed participatory approaches at diverse social, ecological, and political scales. Central to RestPoll is the establishment of a Europe-wide network of pollinator restoration case-study areas and Living Labs (LL), which are unique hubs for experimentation, demonstration, and mutual learning. RestPoll aims to position Europe as a global leader and set the future agenda for pollinator restoration worldwide. The transdisciplinary RestPoll consortium will develop, test, evaluate and refine cross-sectoral pollinator restoration approaches to conserve biodiversity and to benefit nature and society. To restore wild pollinator diversity and their vital pollination services, RestPoll will co-design measures with different stakeholders (ranging from individual land managers to governments) at various spatial scales (field, farm, landscape, European scales), in agricultural landscapes that are dominated by intensively managed crops or grasslands. Our holistic approach, informed by cutting-edge transdisciplinary research, will integrate stakeholders and actors at multiple levels as well as natural and social science disciplines to engage in participatory planning and development of new business models. Learning outcomes will be disseminated by regional to European multi-actor partners and collaborators, which will ensure impact beyond the end of the project.

Fruit-growing generates over £1 billion for the UK economy annually with apples and pears contributing over £250 million. Forest bug, _Pentatoma rufipes_, is an emerging pest in orchards, probably driven by the withdrawal of pesticides, and the effects of climate change. It causes fruit deformity and pitting which can result in up to 40% losses in productivity and waste due to unsaleable fruit. The pest is currently monitored by laborious scouting for the pest in orchard trees. This project will aim to identify and synthesise species-specific pheromones for forest bug that will provide innovative approaches for monitoring and controlling this pest. The synthetic pheromones will be used to attract the pest into traps, enabling growers and agronomists to easily estimate numbers in orchards and predict fruit damage and yield losses. In addition, the development of synthetic pheromones will make it possible to develop non-pesticidal control options in the future, including mass trapping and mating disruption. These approaches will help reduce the need for conventional, chemical insecticides that disrupt integrated pest management programmes and potentially harm the environment. The project will help growers transition towards net zero emissions by avoiding unnecessary application of insecticides and reducing emissions involved in harvesting and storing unmarketable fruit. The project is led by Agrovista UK Ltd which is a leading supplier of agronomy advice, seed, crop protection products and precision farming services, working in partnership with horticultural growers. Other commercial partners are Avalon Fresh Ltd, an agronomic and technical advice provider across the fruit value chain and Russell IPM, a UK specialist producer of innovative products for pest and disease management. They will collaborate with scientists from NIAB and NRI who have internationally recognised expertise in identification, synthesis and application of pheromones for monitoring and control of insect pests. English apple and pear growers will be key to the project, providing sites to study the pest, collect insect material and evaluate new products. Because of the importance of the orchard industry to the UK economy, the outputs of this project will be particularly applicable here. However, forest bug is a pest in other European countries, so the results will have much wider impact with the potential for developing new skills and products outside the region.

This project aims to develop new approaches for increasing resilience of established and newly planted apple orchards. The two main threats to apple production currently are apple canker (_Neonectria ditissima_) and climate change induced severe weather events such as droughts and floods causing tree stress and devastating losses to growers. Apple canker is a perennial problem for the UK's apple production, more than half of which is based in the Kent and Medway region. It causes up to 30% tree mortality in newly planted trees and significantly reduces the yield and quality of mature orchards. The problem has recently increased in severity and impact due to high density planting of very susceptible commercial varieties and the absence of effective chemical control. The canker problem is compounded by the extreme weather events such high rainfall causing waterlogging and droughts that stress the trees, which stunts growth and further increases susceptibility of trees to apple canker. Another issue in young orchards is apple replant disease caused by a variety of microorganisms. In this project we will develop new integrated pest management strategies to counter the effects of extreme weather and apple canker. Our approach will combine the use of sustainable above ground and below ground amendments based on beneficial microbes. A combination of biocontrol agents, plant growth promoting microorganisms, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and biostimulation of plant defences will be used. Our previous research suggests that Trichoderma soil amendment can control oomycetes, such as Pythium, that are one of the main causal agents of in apple replant diseases. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are known to directly and indirectly combat the deleterious effects of waterlogging and drought and have been implicated in modulating plant defences.

The British apple industry is continuously asked by UK retailers to extend availability; this being achieved by implementing ever more sophisticated storage technologies. Whilst this demand is driven by a brand loyalty to domestic production, the industry is increasingly challenged by imports. In order that primary production of UK apples can be fully utilised and be made more competitive, a paradigm shift is needed to improve how apples are stored such that the focus is moved towards ‘flavour-life’ rather than being just driven by firmness and sugar content. The proposed work will develop novel sensor and allied storage interventions which will control ripening whilst maintaining ‘flavour-life’. This offers a route to incremental storage extension to help reduce the reliance on imports and extend the window in which high quality British fruit can be offered.

Over 170 k tonnes of apples are stored annually in the UK. In the absence of post-harvest chemicals, losses due to poor quality and disease are estimated at 3-15%. The project will deliver a new engineering solution to reduce losses. By monitoring metabolic status of fruit, SafePod will allow growers to use lower storage O2 concentrations than currently achievable, extending storage-life of fruit without risking damage. The project will optimise the use of the prototype SafePod in growers' stores and under lab conditions to define optimum storage for different apple varieties and operating conditions for SafePod. Furthermore use of the technology will be translated to other commodities. The project brings together post-harvest researchers, storage engineers, growers and the retail sector to deliver better quality fruit to the consumer and reduce waste. The global market for SafePod is huge with potential markets in UK and worldwide including USA/Canada, Australia, Europe and India.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.

A hand held device that measures spray deposits on crops so that they can be rapidly quantified by spray operators in the field will be developed. This will enable spray operators to determine and optimise sprayer performance e.g. according to crop structure, growth and weather conditions, as well as quality assure spray applications and check for off-target contamination. Spray deposits from best practice spray applications will be benchmarked in a wide range of UK horticultural crops at different growth stages. Business opportunities are 1) sales of the device to the mass market of spray operators, consultants and researchers in the UK then worldwide 2) improving sprayer performance for the UK producer and marketing organisation partners in the project and whose grower members are leading UK horticultural producers. They will set new standards of best practice for spraying UK horticultural crops, and this new technology will readily transfer throughout agriculture and horticulture.