BioScout: Taking the guesswork out of fungal diseases

Lewis Collins was working on spore trapping as part of his microbiology studies when he thought about the challenge of analysing airborne diseases. By the time useful data was received, it was typically too late to avoid an outbreak within a crop.

Weed Eater for Wider Areas

With the wine industry seeking mechanical weeding options to reduce chemical reliance in vineyards, Italian manufacturer Orizzonti has introduced the Speed Green machine, with a novel, yet proven, solution.

The new SAM orchard spreader.

Well known for its spreaders, feed wagons, tip trailers and quick hitches, Hamilton-based Coombridge and Alexander has added a new Orchard Spreader to its SAM machinery range.

The Cropsy crew: Hank Chou, left, with company founders Rory Buchanan, Winston Su, Leila Deljkovic and Ali Alomari.

Cropsy is on a quest to help viticulturists reach their full potential using a unique and scalable artificial intelligence computer-vision system. The Kiwi start-up won the Early Stage and Young Innovators Awards, along with cheques for $11,000, at the recent National Fieldays Innovation Awards.

From the outside it still looks like a dairy shed except it is painted white with black cow-like symbols.

Near the Horowhenua town of Otaki, dairy conversion has taken on a whole new meaning. It’s not a case of converting sheep and beef farms to dairy farms, rather it’s a case of just converting old dairy sheds to country style tourist accommodation. Reporter Peter Burke visited two such conversions by two pretty special and creative women.

Rex set to go

Italian tractor manufacturer Landini, well-known for its specialised tractors in the vineyard and orchard sectors, has announced a new addition to its range - the Rex 4 Electra.

Smart Sprayer

Claimed to be some of the most revolutionary spray technology to enter the Australasian market, the BA Smart Sprayer powered by Smart-Appl, provides viticulturists and horticulturists with reduced chemical use, economical spray application and advanced crop mapping.

Ted on tour

A new and improved version of Naïo Technologies’ autonomous weeding robot, Ted, has been revealed prior to a tour of French vineyards.

Four years after the Kaikōura earthquake, Marlborough wineries are far better prepared for a big shake, says structural engineer Will Lomax.

The impetus behind developing the Klima stripper back in 2007 was a continual lack of labour during the pruning season.

Initially designed to assist fertiliser spreading trucks operating on steep New Zealand hill country, TracMap’s GPS guidance and job management system has evolved significantly since its inception in 2005.

Italian specialist tractor manufacturer SAME, part of the SDF Group, used the recent EIMA 18 Expo in Bologna, to roll out its latest Frutteto model — the CVT AutoSteer.

The word ozone conjures up images of big holes in the atmosphere, stronger UV light, the risk of severe sunburn and CFC's — at least in this part of the world.

Drones may soon be joining the armoury of weapons used to scare birds away from ripening grapes  after a trial undertaken in Hawke's Bay last season.

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