A rapidly changing climate and a challenging skilled labour and competitive situation are key conflicting objectives in agriculture, especially in fruit growing. The aim of the MIRO project is to strengthen the future viability of the entire fruit value chain from cultivation and processing to marketing in the Central German region and to develop design options for known challenges.

To this end, seven use cases from different partners will be analysed in detail. Preliminary work from the two Central German experimental fields EXPRESS and LANDNETZ will be taken up and linked at regional level with other players in the value chain.

IMMS is working on two use cases in MIRO. The first is aimed at data exchange between stakeholders in the region and the second at the targeted use of digitalisation to analyse feedback on variety characteristics at different locations along the value chain.

Data exchange use case

The exchange or consolidation of data from different systems or different players is central to digitalisation. For example, it is desirable to transfer data on processing difficulties that can be avoided by adapting cultivation methods. However, such a comprehensive data exchange at regional level currently only works to a limited extent, as there are many individual solutions whose data cannot be automatically made available to other systems.

IMMS will investigate which platforms are fundamentally suitable for fruit growing and which interfaces need to be created for this. In the consortium, we would also like to look at what an equivalent value for data provision could look like. The resulting concepts will be incorporated into a guideline for protagonists and implemented using examples to demonstrate the potential.

Digital twin use case

Here, IMMS is working on a digital representation of fruit varieties at a location, as this combination has a significant influence on the yield and quality of the fruit, but can only be adapted in the long term due to the lifespan of the trees. Information about the fruit, climate, etc. is therefore important for future-proof planning.  Such a platform does not yet exist.

We will systematically analyse a few selected fruit varieties, such as certain apple or cherry varieties. We will automatically record site conditions using sensors and scoring data and develop an app for this purpose. In addition, characteristics of the variety from breeding and testing as well as characteristics of the fruit and the products produced from it will also be recorded. This will create a comprehensive knowledge base on a variety across different locations. This makes it possible to analyse future scenarios and thus react to changing climate conditions through adapted variety selection and breeding, which should be carried out together with the relevant players.