Pear, cherry and apple production is vital to Oregon’s rural economy, valued at a combined $200 million in 2022. But the industry faces serious challenges: climate change, rising costs, labor shortages and stricter regulations.
Traditional orchards aren’t designed for automation, and labor-saving technologies are still in early development. Meeting these challenges — and securing the future of Oregon’s fruit industry — requires innovative, cross-disciplinary solutions.
Innovative research into robotics and AI offers practical, scalable solutions that can ensure the long-term sustainability of Oregon’s specialty crop industry.
Since 2018, Ashley Thompson, Oregon State University Extension Service fruit crops specialist and assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture in the College of Agricultural Sciences, has partnered with engineers at OSU and Washington State University to develop robotic and artificial intelligence tools that help orchardists manage crops more efficiently.
The research team’s immediate focus is adapting existing orchards with tools that can identify diseases, measure crop loads and apply fertilizer precisely. Long-term, the researchers aim to design orchards that are compatible with fully autonomous systems for pruning and harvesting.
Their first major project, funded from 2020 to 2023, resulted in a robotic system that analyzes individual apple trees and applies nitrogen fertilizer based on each tree’s needs. The system, developed by the Davidson Lab in the OSU College of Engineering, uses AI and a special camera that captures both color and depth, enabling the robot to “see” trees in 3D to precisely localize individual orchard trees and apply variable-rate fertilizer based on tree-specific needs.
This work enhances sustainability by reducing waste and environmental impact while optimizing crop nutrition at the individual-tree level. The technology was field-tested at an orchard in Prosser, Washington.
In 2024, the researchers secured additional funding through two OSU programs to build a broader research team. They’re now working on tools that blend human and robotic labor, aiming to ease workforce shortages while enhancing worker skills. They're also organizing workshops and surveys to ensure these tools are practical and meet growers’ needs.
Their robot successfully applied customized fertilizer treatments to individual trees, based on their health and growth. Growers at a major research review provided feedback that’s helping them refine the technology, and the work was featured in Good Fruit Grower, a leading industry publication.
Although still in development, this innovation points the way to smarter, more sustainable orchard management. Peer-reviewed papers from the project have been cited multiple times, showing growing interest in this research within the scientific community.
Oregon’s fruit orchards are vital to the state's rural economy. Innovative research into robotics and AI offers practical, scalable solutions that can boost efficiency, reduce workforce strain and ensure the long-term sustainability of Oregon’s specialty crop industry.