Integrated Model and
Platform for Harvest Prediction of Canned Peaches

About IMPPeach

The IMPPeach project’s primary objective is to deliver accurate prediction of yields / quantities and harvest dates for optimum maturity of peach cultivations (canned peaches varieties) in order to optimize the production planning for canning facilities.

For any fruit canning business, improving the prediction accuracy of the fruit quantities and harvest dates is of critical importance to the production planning and execution. The benefits from improved harvest and yield prediction accuracy include a) increase in efficiency, b) added value for the products, c) gains in market share and d) increased profit margins. These benefits affect not only the canning business itself but are shared with all stakeholders including a larger number of smallholder farmers that typically are the fruit suppliers.

The project will study peach orchards in a part (approximately 100 km2) of the area of Imathia, (Central Macedonia, Greece), with a total area of ca. 1000 Ha, in more than 2000 separate fields cultivated by producers-members of 3 cooperatives (Aliakmon, Messi and Meliki) and supplying the canning facility of the project partner ALMME.
Historical records of peach deliveries to the canning facility (fields and varieties, yield quantities, harvest and delivery dates) for the last 5 years, will be combined with EO data/indices and climatic data of the same period to develop prediction models (statistical, AI/ML). Additional data (IoT and ground/site parameters) will be collected during the project period (3 cultivation years) from a sample of fields and will be used to augment/enhance/retrain and calibrate the models. The prediction models will be compared and evaluated against actual crop production data from the 3-year project period.

All the datasets used in the project will be integrated into a Farm Management Information System and the model predictions will be interfaced via the FMIS to the Material Requirements Planning software of the canning facility. The project will implement an extensive dissemination, communication and exploitation plan, backed-up by major industry players, including a study on how the project results can be transferred to other crops and geographical locations and a market research for industries with similar business requirements.