Fieldays has just wrapped up, and at the Innovation Hub, our region had a strong focus on kiwifruit and the broader horticultural sector.

Matt Flowerday’s agri-tech company, Landkind, was presenting its latest suite of tools for horticultural use. Sunforest has developed a range of portable Near Infra Red (NIR) Spectrometers that measure fruit attributes (eg brix and dry matter, and browning detection) in a non-destructive manner. These devices are designed as a tool for kiwifruit and apple growers, and packhouses, and are directly integrated with Landkind, making it easier to manage crops and improve yields.

KiwiLeather Innovations was showcasing its groundbreaking use of kiwifruit waste to create a plastic-free ‘leather’ alternative. The company is hoping the bio-material will appeal to the automotive sector (read more).

Two tools to support the kiwifruit industry were on display at the University of Waikato stand: a 3D-printed robotic gripper, and soft robotic fingers that conform to fruit surfaces, both designed for gentle fruit handling. The tools aim to address issues of labour shortage and waste reduction (read more).

Also, worthy of note was local company Ballance taking out the Fieldays award for the Best Outdoor Site – Large, recognised for delivering an outstanding visitor experience catering to all ages and interests. The company was showing a new digital innovation, SpreadWise, that maps out fertiliser exclusion zones on a farm (eg areas naturally enriched by stock movements, such as gates and troughs), thereby increasing efficiency in fertiliser spend, and reducing waste and environmental impact.