Latest news and updates
Lincoln Agritech: App to count fruit a success
March 2023: For an orchardist to know how big their harvest is likely to be, the fruit must be counted.
But that counting can be time-consuming and tedious – and needs to be done not once, but at least twice. First orchardists count how much fruit has set, and how much needs to be thinned to ensure maximum quality. Then they need to count again, to check that the thinning has been done properly.
A successful six-year Lincoln Agritech project funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and New Zealand Apples and Pears Inc (NZAPI) to develop a counting app, is set to make a real difference.
The project involved capturing thousands of images of flowers, fruitlets and fruit counts on trees to train a specialised artificial neural network (ANN) called a convolutional neural network (CNN) designed to extract and interpret features from the images. These features are then combined in a model to form regions that are classified into fruit and non-fruit, providing a crop load estimate.
The app has been trained to recognise apple fruitlets for thinning. Photo: Lincoln Agritech.
BRANZ: Restoring a home after flood damage
March 2023: BRANZ has made a bulletin available to assist with the putting right that is so important after a flood. It covers health and safety considerations, tips for cleaning up inside and outside, drying out the house, and repairs. The bulletin updates and replaces Bulletin 455 Restoring a house after flood damage. It does not cover making residential properties resilient to flooding.
Once building access is safe and services such as electricity are turned off or made safe, flood debris should be cleared away quickly so drying can start as soon as possible.
Finishing work must not begin until the building is fully dry. Beginning work too soon may result in longer-term damage such as mould growth and timber decay.
The building owner should contact their insurance company as early as possible and follow the insurer’s instructions. Work on the building should not begin until the owner has confirmed that the insurance assessor has visited and/or the insurance company has authorised the work to go ahead.