10134654Project title: Sensor-based precision fertigation of stone fruit: lowering inputs and emissions, and improving production efficiencyActiveGrant for R&DInnovate UKThe UK orchard fruit industry was worth £293.4M in 2023, but unsated demand for home-grown fruit meant that £99M worth of plum and sweet cherry were imported in 2023 (DefraStats). Optimum nutrition of UK orchard crops is essential to ensure high yields of phytonutritious fruit with good storage potential, but there are no robust grower guidelines. Consequently, commercial stone fruit growers are unable to schedule fertilisers to match demand with supply, and so current fertiliser practices are wasteful and expensive. An estimated 48kg/ha of applied nitrogen (N) is not taken up by the trees, and so losses of this and other applied fertilisers are high but remain unquantified. Our aim here is to reduce inputs of N, phosphorous(P), and potassium(K) to better match demand with supply in commercial stone fruit production. Our novel sensor technologies will provide real-time data of soil NPK levels to help inform growers' decisions. Norton Folgate leads our consortium of commercial stone fruit growers (A.C. Hulme, Domum Agrum, Torry Hill Farm) and technology providers (Delta-T Devices, Driemtech, EDT DirectIon, Fotenix, Soil Moisture Sense) and academic partner NIAB. Our low-input NPK approach is sustainable and will improve on-farm production efficiency and profitability.