We recently saddled up the new Munckhof LIDAR One Row Airbag sprayer for a first outting, attended by some of the most premium of growers Kent has to offer. It was a marvel to witness the sprayer doing some wizardry infront of our eyes! Plus it's always nice to see the machine sold does what you say it does...

I won't bore you with the details of the sprayer itself, those can be seen in the post below but we want to thank Craig Rook from Mansfields Fruit Farms for allowing us to demonstrate his new machine and all those that attended for their attentiveness and intelligent questions, all of which were answered with ease by the big brained Jelle from Munckhof.

We have 3 further units being delivered in the spring, ensuring all Mansfield's farms are at the cutting edge of spraying technology. It's not often a sprayer actually earns you back the money you spent on it, but that's where we're at now!

If you have any questions or burning desire to purchase one (two, three or more...) of these beautiful stallions, get in touch with us today.

In the meantime, take a look at this short but sweet video of the sprayer individually controlling each nozzle going up a row: ​https://youtube.com/shorts/NokdNwcPR_E

We're absolutely delighted to be back at the National Fruit Show again this year at stand 011! Last year was a great success all round and the new format is definitely shaking things up. On our stand this year we'll have the lovely lads from Munckhof, the ever present Vincent and the owner Han himself! Joining the already star studded cast will be Sander from GREEFA, peddling his fantastic graders and packing machinery for anyone with some spare change in their pockets. Completing the line-up is the Kent Fruit Services brigade, the wonderful Ellie, el Capitan himself Peter and last and least, Piers.

Don't forget to visit our brothers in arms BURG Machinery at stand 012 as well, where Joan and his clan would be delighted to see you with a fancy looking stand and beers in the fridge (non-alcoholic alternatives are available, probably)

We're displaying the incredible LIDAR sprayer we have mentioned in the glittering post below which is a real coup - the first commercially available and sold LIDAR sprayer in the UK. The sprayer will be demonstrated the next day (6th November, 2pm) at Middle Pett Farm. Get in touch with us for more information.

We can't wait to see you there!

They say it's not what's on the outside that counts, but what's inside. Existentially speaking we agree but for the purposes of this post, it's complete nonsense. Your external defects are the reason we get up in the morning. We're the mirror from Snow White telling you if your apples are the fairest of them all and by jove are we good at it.

We've taken inspiration from all the sci-fi films of yesteryear to create a sentient computer superbrain to look at every fruit that passes under our camerabox and ponder whether it's class 1, 2 or juice in less than a blink of the human eye. Sure, a token human must be present at the start to poke at what it wants to take out initially and ensure the software isn't escaping

​In reality, the iQS Pro Plus builds on the industry leading platform of the iQS Performance and Performance Plus which has long been the best external quality system on the market, utilising multiple colour and infrared cameras along with user sculpted decision files to sort fruit quickly and efficiently. The Pro Plus builds on this and adds in deep learning AI technology, a popular buzzword these days, to better identify and recognise defects previously very difficult to assess such as stem crack and eye rot. The operator is still in charge and leads the sorting process on whatever merry march they desire, it's just the ease of which this is done which has progressed. The UI remains the same for continuity purposes

The new system ensures Mansfields Fruit Farms remains at the forefront of grading technology, as they always are. Their skilled operators combined with the easy to use system means their grading experience is the best for them and also all the 3rd party growers they sort for.

Get in touch today to take the next step towards being made to feel stupid / obsolete by a computer.

Munckhof have been quietly dominating the sprayer sphere for a good few years now, consistently producing the most premium quality machines with the best coverage on the market. They've taken the solid base of the much loved 3 and 1 row airbags and added plenty of technology to not just keep them at the front of the race but streak ahead. In recent years they've taken massive strides to increase efficiency with precision spraying wasting not one precious drop of your liquid gold but now the brainbots there have taken it to the next dimension by taking each of your tree and treating it like the princess it really is.

Collaboration has long been Munckhof's mantra, rather than try and be a specialist in everything they've opted to stick to their lane and produce the best sprayers possible but align with other incredible companies to stretch the boundaries of what's possible in fruit tree spraying. Looking to technology from our larger agricultural brethrens we now offer PWM nozzles for variable rate spraying and combining with with the new LIDAR sprayer, this means your whole tree gets sprayed in exactly the same and more importantly the right way.

Using space-age technology, our sprayer detects organic matter and judges the distance from our nozzles - it then decides how much spray to put out and at what rates based on this distance to perfectly cover the tree to just beyond the middle, the holy grail of destinations. Not too much, not too little. Not only does it judge the distance but it also senses the absence of organic matter and stops spraying where there is no mass, reducing spray consumption not just in existing orchards but most importantly in young orchards or those without too much leaf mass. We estimate a saving of around 20%-30% on your chemical costs depending on tree shape but much more with young trees.

We have just sold our first LIDAR equiped 1 row airbag sprayer, the first commercially available one in the UK and we'll be proudly displaying it at the National Fruit Show at Detling on the 5th of November at stand 011. Come check it out and marvel at it's brilliance 

Have you ever been in that situation where you've asked how something works, it's been explained in the simplest of terms at least twice, you still dont get it but you do the classic "ah yes, I understand"? Well that's me when Jasper explains how the Treescout system actually works from a software perspective. Luckily, I (and you) just see the end result and somehow the worlds fanciest technology is simplified to something even our glorious leader operated with ease.

Aurea have been at the forefront of the orchard scanning industry for a long time, with drones the initial focus. This created a low barrier of entry service whilst still providing highest quality outcomes, looking at blossom mapping and tree vigour.

How times change. Now comes the Treescout system. This is a tractor mounted camera system that takes high definition images of every tree in every row to take this process to the next level. They are still doing blossom and vigour mapping whilst moving onto fruit counting too...a real breakthrough for accurate crop estimations.

These services help reduce cost inputs by only spraying where it's needed, as defined by the customer, and creating a homogenous orchard of high cropping fruit.

We're so impressed by Aurea and their flexible, highly professional approach that we're absolutely delighted to partner with them and can't wait to see where their next futuristic brainwave takes them.

In the meantime for additional information and really rather more polished videos, browse their website and get in touch to see where it can integrate into your current set up!

Sometimes the future is hidden in plain sight and who would've thought Munckhof would keep innovating...

Following on from their stunning 3 row sprayer, one row airbag sprayer and (previously new) Muller spray computer; Munckhof have pulled many a new machine out the bag. Each time the question of whether you can perfect perfection is asked, the answer is always yes. Munckhof span a large chunk of the outdoor sphere and produce machines which keep your trees free from disease and pests and then help pick the red (and sometimes green) balls of money with less damage and more productivity.

Let's start at the start. The new kid on the block is the vision spray technology which utilises technology that Star Wars would be proud of. Clever one they ares. Laser technology is used to scan the row of trees in 25 places at 4000 times a second to tell each nozzle whether to spray and at what rate. This fully optimises the coverage and doesn't waste a drop of the liquid gold (price not colour) by spraying where a tree isn't. The system uses the PWM nozzle and a not insignificant amount of witchcraft to save between 20-40% on chemical use as well as optimising coverage which is vital to controlling scourges like scab and woolly aphid. This is available on all one row airbag sprayers

Take a look at this video for some more info and a look at it working: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pod-BKgHyvY

Next up! 3 row sprayer developments. This is more evolution than revolution; our best seller gets better. Now, with the breath of client's feedback still hot on our ears there have been updated options for the 3 row sprayer including: automatic shut off filling valves, load sensing hydraulics to keep your tractor's oil nice & cool, smart cleaning program, PWM nozzles for variable rate spraying and automatic airbag adjustments. Give us a call, email or Whatsapp (if you're feeling millenial about it) to discuss what these actually mean!

Lastly, (if you got this far, i'm proud of you. Too many words, too much (or little) information) let's talk about pluk-o-traks. The OG picking machine from which many a young pretender has been copied from. We heard what you've been saying about petrol engines, global warming & your love of batteries so we've created a fully electric (or hybrid..) picking machine to silently (I genuinely had to check it was still running at the dealer day...) and with much less strain, pick your entire crop. "Peter...." we hear you say "that's great but we don't know what size and colour the apples we've picked are though and it's getting us down". Fret not fictionally sad, but polite fruit grower, we have that covered too with the incredible M-Connect vision box which tells you who picked the bin, how many apples are in there, what colour, size and star sign (optional extra) they are before they even reach the cold store! This can be retrofitted to lesser picking machines of different colours by the way.... Information sheet below

If any of the above has tickled a pickle, or piqued an interest don't hesistate to get in contact and we'd be more than happy to chat through in much more detail and hopefully more clarity than the above.

Until next time, fine folks, stay safe and enjoy the sunshine

Good things happen to good people and there are very few better than everyone up at Newling Fruit Growers. These marvellous mortals had an amazing new pre-sizer installed in the Summer of 2022 (see our gushing blog post about that) which revolutionised the way they grade and pack their fruit and they haven't stopped there. This Winter they upgraded their iQS system from the performance package to the performance plus.

Look, we know its not about how many cameras you have, it's how you use them but sometimes more is just better. The upgrade of the system adds a plethora of new infrared cameras which allow the system to view defects in even more detail and across even more wavelengths to look slightly under the skin of the fruit, in order to detect the freshest of bruises. This is absolutely perfect for Newling as those sadistic sapiens like to handle the most delicate and difficult of fruits which, navigating where many others fear to tread.

The worst offender is Bramley, which as Natasha Beddingfield says, bruise easily so be gentle when you handle them. This system helps accurately identify all the emotional and physical damage as they come fresh off the tree and onto our GREEFA Combisort and into the water channels.

This is the first of such a system in the UK and just goes to show how Newling are forging the way for others to follow.

As always thank you to everyone at Newling (Rach, Edward, Edgars and Marcin) and also GREEFA too for the seemless installation (Sander and Martijn).

And breathe.......

It's safe to say this year has been rather action packed with countless installations and infinite machine services under our belts we will now let our little elves have the rest of the year off and prepare for our adventures in 2024. 

For your info, we break up from school on the 22nd December and hibernate until the 4th of January. For any urgent matters, please call the normal telephone numbers.

As always we'd like to thank everyone for their custom and friendship in 2023 and look forward to more of the same in 2024. In the meantime we'd like to wish one and all the warmest of seasonal greetings and hope you have a fabulous festive period with those you hold dearest

Feliz Navidad Amigos!

Aye Aye Aye Aye - thats right, it's Fourayes making a wonderous debut to our timeline.

The fine folks down in Sittingbourne, now part of the Puratos UK group have decided enough was enough and it's time to get a wet infeed for their peeling line. It's a fully stainless steel construction, meaning time and tides won't age it and it conforms to the highest food safety standards possible. 

Many thanks to Hugh Hamlin for making the great decision to purchase this marvellous bit of kit and Joan van Burg for helping get everything over the line. The installation was taken care of by Joan's Uncle, the stunningly speedy Piet van Burg who had everything in and running quicker than sending a thankyou card from NL to UK.

We look forward to working with Fourayes for many moons to come and thank them as always for the ongoing business

​

F W Mansfield's first year of their palletisers running saw lines 5 & 6 left out; the problem children with lumps of coal for Christmas whilst the other were wrapped in cashmere with silver spoons in mouths. Well no more, come in from the cold little ones and enjoy the sweet embrace of end of line palletising. We always loved you really.

This has meant a reconfiguration of various aspects of the previous project, a perfect game of tetris has been completed to fit better than OJ's glove. The empty box infeed has switched sides and an additional strapper (I said strapper...) has been placed next to the first one to increase capacity to keep up with the palletisers. This now means there is a full pallet coming off the strappers every 4 minutes, so in the time it's taken to write this article 4836 pallets have been produced and strapped.

This plus the additional 2 palletisers means all lines are taken care and nearly fully automated. One or two more aspects and we can switch off the lights and walk away whilst the product goes from tree to shelf seamlessly without touching human hands. The last piece of the puzzle is case packers and BURG have finally created the perfect machine for the job, so watch this space for them to install and dominate the market for years to come.

This is but another part of Lee's master plan for the top fruit packhouse and my deary me how well has it come together! It's almost like he knows what he's doing...

You won't have to wait long until the next project at F W Mansfield's so keep your eyes peeled and your wits sharp.