Pollination robot performs successfully in LED-lit Frovi greenhouse
Source: HD.com
Greenhouse growers increasingly rely on energy-saving strategies during winter months, including highly managed lighting regime and closed screens. Through continuous software optimization and real-time flower recognition improvements, the robot maintained precise pollination performance throughout the day and the whole trial period, achieving 99% flower recognition.
© Arugga AI Farming Pollen quantity on stigmas - microscopic analysis of a bee pollinated flower © Arugga AI Farming Pollen quantity on stigmas - microscopic analysis of a robotic pollinated flower © Arugga AI Farming Left: bee pollination only, right: Polly + bee pollination Screens closed According to Mikel Honders from Food Ventures, "For several weeks, Arugga's robots successfully pollinated tomato flowers under red spectrum LED lighting with the screens closed, conditions where bumblebees cannot operate. This technology has the potential to support more energy-efficient greenhouse operation during winter, although the actual energy-saving impact still needs to be demonstrated in commercial practice." "Energy efficiency has become one of the most important operational priorities for greenhouse growers," said Eytan Heller, Co-Founder of Arugga AI Farming.
"This trial demonstrates how robotic pollination can help growers maintain reliable crop performance while operating under energy-saving." © Arugga AI Farming Tomato Greenhouse, from the pollination robot POV Llive Demo Day Tours Arugga AI Farming will host a series of live Demo Day Tours during GreenTech Amsterdam 2026, giving growers the opportunity to experience its robotic solutions under real commercial greenhouse conditions. Live operational feeds and additional robotic solutions will also be presented throughout GreenTech at booth 05.752.
Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?
Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.
What is the operator takeaway from this trial?
If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.
