Great interest: 150 visitors of attended the Science Symposium in Fruit Logistica

Very positive results is the conclusion of the 4-hour Science Symposium held during Fruit Logistica, with ca. 150 visitors attending for the presentations, some strolling in and out between networking on the exhibition and listening and discussing with the scientists, presenting on the stage. 

Manuela Zude-Sasse, ATB researcher, co-organizer of the Symposium with Qiang Zhi from Fruit Logistica (main picture), explains “This year was an experiment, if a Science Symposium directly on one of the stages at Fruit Logistica can gain interest. We are very satisfied with the results and this encourages for a next edition”.

The 4-hour event also was an opportunity to exchange information, initiate cooperation or simply take away some updates and inspiration for your future work.

Contents 

Basic and applied research were presented in the Science Forum at Fruit Logistica on Friday, 7th February 2025. Data science experts discussed application of artificial intelligence in pre- and postharvest with regard to reasoning and explainability of the results. Presentations on novel postharvest approaches captured the introduction of digital twins in fruit storage and drying, allowing to simulate the processes.

Emerging technologies of phenotyping were presented, with the LIDO from Laimburg and the Technology Garden from ATB being already functioning infrastructures in fruit production. 

Also presented the latest findings in more established areas such as the control of storage atmosphere and the health value of fruit and vegetables.

The ingredients of new products made from insects and macroalgae could provide ideas for future product developments. New attempts in algae and edible insects production and usage were presented.

An App that predicts risk of heat damage of fruit trees

One of the presented papers explained the methodology to measure temperature distribution in canopies of fruit trees is shown. The method provides temperature-annotated 3D point clouds. 

They can be used to visualize temperature distribution in 3D, which is relevant during heat waves for predicting the risk of heat damage. This research, AI Supports Crop Management in Apple and Grape Production, by by Manuela Zude-Sasse, Christian Regen, Laszlo Baranyai, allowed to develop the AI field-uniform risk model in which the mobile App, “Sheet”, free download, is based. The App  has been developed for apple and grape. 

An App based on AI, developed by ATB researchers, supports apple and grape production

Program

10:00 Session PHENOTYPING

Moderation by Scientific director Prof. Barbara Sturm, of ATB, Potsdam, Germany, T
10:00 – 10:15
Infrastructure for Evaluating Sensors in Horticulture: The LIDO
Referent: Elias Holzknecht, Laimburg, Italien, T, V
10:15 – 10:30
Technology Garden: Apple Monitoring during Heat Waves
Referent: Nico Tapia Zapata, ATB, Germany, T, V
10:30 – 10:45
Utilizing and upscaling sensing and digital data technologies for monitoring and predicting fruit
cracking
Referent: Avi Sadka, ARO, Israel, T, V
10:45 – 11:00
May Phenotyping Sensors Provide a Potential for Sorting Lines? The role of deep learning.
Referent: José Blasco, IVIA, Spain, T, V

11:00 Session STORAGE and PACKAGING

Moderation by José Blasco, IVIA, Spanien
11:00 – 11:15
The Microbiome of Fruits: Diversity, Functions, and Applications in Horticulture
Referent: Ahmed Abdelfattha, ATB, Germany, T, V
11:15 – 11:30
Automated Controlling of Storage Conditions
Referent: Pramod Mahajan, ATB, Germany, T, V
11:30 – 11:45
Digital Twin for modelling and remote monitoring of temperature, humidity and condensation in cold
storage rooms for apples
Referent: Reiner Jedermann, Universität Bremen, Germany, T, V
11:45 – 12:00
Advances in Ethylene Monitoring
Referent: Akshay Sonawane, India, T, V

12:00 Session HEALTHY FOOD

Moderation by Pramod Mahajan, ATB, Germany
12:00 – 12:15
Beyond vitamins: an update on the nutritional and physiological importance of fresh fruit and
vegetables
Referent: Franziska Hanschen, IGZ, Großbeeren, Germany, T, V
12:15 – 12:30
Digital Twins in Fruit Drying
Referent: Mulugeta Delele, ATB, Germany, T, V
12:30 – 12:45
Algae Products
Referent: Oliver Schlüter, ATB, Germany, T
12:45 – 13:00
Insects as Sustainable Source of Food, Feed and Beyond: Applications and Benefits
Referent: Giacomo Rossi, Italy, T, V

13:00 Session ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Moderation by Martin Geyer, ATB, Germany, T
13:00 – 13:15
Monitoring of Fruits using 3D Data and AI
Referent: Sören Discher, Point Cloud Technology, Potsdam, Germany, T, V
13:15 – 13:30
Explainable AI – How Can We Trust Deep Learning?
Referent: Sezer Kutluk, Data Science Group, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany, T, V
13:30 – 13:45
Using AI Generated Preharvest Data in Fruit Storage?
Referent: Helene Fotouo – University Pretoria, South Africa, T, V
13:45 – 14:00
AI Supports Crop Management in Apple and Grape Production
Referent: Manuela Zude-Sasse, ATB, Germany, T, V

Dr. Helene Fotouo on the Farming Forward stage presenting in the AI Session