Smarter pollination: Tackling labour challenges with automation
With support from Hort Innovation Frontiers, a new automated platform developed at Flavorite and now commercially available through Innovatech Automation PTY LTD, is helping growers tackle this challenge, reducing labour demands and improving crop outcomes.
Hand-pollinating tomatoes in a commercial greenhouse, while seemingly straightforward, presents some significant challenges, not least of all labour.
At a time when finding skilled staff is already hard, particularly in regional areas, the labour demands of pollination are increasingly difficult to sustain. For some businesses, this can mean delaying or dropping other crop tasks; for others, it has meant costly weekend call-outs to keep pollination on track, or delaying pollination with all the consequences that can follow, particularly a reduction in fruit quality.
A new automated pollination and spray platform is offering a fresh solution. The platform is known as the RLAP (Robotic Labour Assist Platform) and was developed by technology firm FTEK in field trial partnership with Flavorite and Innovatech Automation PTY LTD.
The breakthrough development has been supported by the Australian government-funded Hort Frontiers program Growing Horticulture through Protected Cropping Innovation (AS23001). The program has provided additional funding to advance this technology, generate key data, and accelerate its path to market, ultimately supporting benefits for the broader horticulture industry.
The pollination challenge
Pollination in greenhouse tomato crops relies on moving pollen within the flower at the right stage of bloom. Traditionally, this has been done by hand using mechanical tools similar to a leaf blower, or through manual disturbance of the plants. Timing is critical as the optimal window for pollination is just 1.5 to 3 hours each day dependent on the time of year.
The short window of time when flowers are most receptive means growers must drop everything else and direct large teams to the job.
In large glasshouses, this can be a logistical headache, drawing 16-18 workers away from other crop work for two or three hours each time.
“It’s a big disruption,” says Matt Patten, Crop Care Manager at Flavorite, “and if it is able to be avoided through new technology, then that’s the path we want to go down.”
“Everyone has to stop what they’re doing, and the pressure is on to get through the crop quickly. It’s like being tapped on the shoulder at a random time every day, having to pack up whatever you are doing, move onto pollination for the next 2 hours, then pack up and return to previous task. Besides the variation you can get in pollination quality, the time alone you lose every day for all the staff to move back and forth between this job is just pure lost time.”
Public holidays and weekends make the task even more difficult. While pollination doesn’t wait, staff availability often does. Growers are left juggling rosters or compromising on timing, both of which can affect fruit set.
A new approach
Identifying an opportunity to simplify and automate this task, Flavorite in a development partnership with FTEK – New Zealand based ag tech company - has leveraged the RLAP platform designed to operate along standard greenhouse pipe rails.
Each unit is fitted with six adjustable high pressure air blowers, directed towards the flowers at differing angles, which in turn disturbs the flowers creating pollination. Importantly, the fact the blowers can be fixed at certain angles and heights at a growers direction to suit the crop’s requirements is a big positive, removing the subjectivity than can happen when you have upwards of 16 different people doing the task per greenhouse. The reality is that the task doesn’t get done exactly the same way between different staff resulting in differing crop quality outcomes.
With two operators, up to eight of the platforms can be managed simultaneously. This means a five-hectare greenhouse can be pollinated within the optimal window using only a fraction of the labour usually required.
The system also provides a ‘double pass’ effect which is not easily possible with traditional pollination methods. As the RLAP unit moves down a greenhouse row, three air blowers are directed at each side, meaning all plants receive two passes of the unit.
From prototype to large-scale trial
As development partner, Flavorite initially trialled a single prototype unit, with encouraging results. Within three months, the benefits were clear enough that the business ordered four more.
This set the stage for a larger trial across a five-hectare glasshouse. One half of the crop was pollinated using traditional methods, while the other half relied on the automated platforms.
The trial captured a range of outcomes:
Labour efficiency: pollination was completed with a much smaller team, freeing staff for other crop work.
Timing flexibility: the ability to pollinate on weekends and holidays without calling in large teams.
Fruit set and quality: consistent coverage improved fruit set, with fewer second-grade tomatoes produced.
Resilience in tough conditions: during periods when fruit set is typically more difficult, the platform maintained performance.
“The results were very convincing,” Matt Patten said.
“The labour savings alone were significant, but what really stood out was the consistency.”
The higher pollination consistency equates to reduced waste. Even a one to two percent reduction in waste, when applied across a large-scale operation, has significant financial and sustainability implications.
The platform also offers versatility. Units are available as pollination-only, spray-only, or combination systems, allowing growers to tailor them to their production needs.
The RLAP-SPRAY system, part of FTEK’s pollinator platform, provides autonomous greenhouse spraying with precise droplet distribution and improved crop coverage. The system supports efficient use of pest, disease, and hygiene control agents with reduced chemical input and simplified operation.
Where to next?
Flavorite have now deploying the platforms across its tomato production on a rolling schedule, operating them all year round. Growers interested in seeing the technology in action or learning more are encouraged to contact sales@innovatech-automation.com for further information.
For the wider industry, the key outcome is clear: automation can take pressure off growers when labour is hardest to secure, while maintaining or improving crop outcomes.
“This project is more than just one company trialling a new machine,” says Anita Chennell (Growing Horticulture through Protected Cropping Innovation program manager).
“It’s about testing whether automation can help the whole industry adapt to changing labour conditions. The results so far suggest it can.”
About the program
The Growing horticulture through protected cropping innovation project (AS23001) is funded through Hort Innovation Frontiers with co-investment from Applied Horticultural Research (AHR), Flavorite Hydroponic Tomatoes, The Costa Group, Apex Greenhouses, The Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), PolyBee and contributions from the Australian Government.
The program, will help protected cropping growers maintain profitability by delivering key aspects of the Protected Cropping Strategic Investment Plan, specifically sustainability, advanced agronomy, automation to reduce labour costs, energy and improving staff skills and management.
Learn more
To learn more about the technology, contact sales@innovatech-automation.com
To keep update to date with the project, contact
Anita Chennell (anita.chennell@ahr.com.au) or visit ahr.com.au/protected-cropping