One area of research that John Verbrugge thinks has been overlooked is field sorting of culls. Verbrugge, new president of the Washington State Horticultural Association, said the industry has made great strides in developing a mechanical harvester that uses robotics, although when it is commercially ready, the harvester will require significant capital investment from growers. But he thinks technology from the packing line is available now and could be incorporated in the field to mechanically sort culls. “We should focus first on field sorting culls—it would be easier to implement compared to getting robotics going—and would pay back quickly. “I […]