Ripen Tech

Overview:

Growers are obligated to produce fruit to a contracted weight in the wine and orchard industries. Traditional methods inaccurate (-30% of harvested weight) leading to common downstream issues including over-ordering of consumables or rejection of product.  Founded in 2023 Ripen Tech has developed an IoT device that weights fruit in real-time while still on the plant.  This technology provides growers the ability to monitor fruit weights to accurately track and predict yield, understand the impacts of irrigation and heatwaves, improve water use efficiency in real-time, increase yield, avoid fruit loss and select an optimum harvest date to improve fruit quality.  

Background/Problem/Opportunity?

To date, winegrape weight monitoring has been undertaken manually by destructively removing and weighing approximately 5-10% of bunches from the vineyards which inaccurate by ±30%. This costs wine companies’ money in lost productivity annually.: Evidence - Within the viticulture sector, bunch weights are out by 30% a day.  Therefore, pinpoint methods (hand picking) does not take into account daily changes.

Solution  

A patented IoT sensor that monitors fruit weight in real-time while it is still on the plant. Fruit weight data is sent hourly to the growers providing them real-time information to make management decisions.    

- Optimized Harvesting: Timely and accurate data helps in determining the optimal harvest time, ensuring peak fruit quality

- Yield Improvement: Improved yield management by providing insights into berry growth patterns, climatic and environmental conditions

- Cost Efficiency: By reducing waste and improving resource allocation to lower operational costs including water and labour.

- Quality Assurance: Ensures consistent fruit quality, which is crucial for maintaining domestic and international markets and consumer satisfaction

- Data-Driven Decision Making: Provides actionable insights that help in making informed decisions regarding vineyard irrigation management. This will create significant output in the Australian wine industry with export capability.  

The introduction of a new tool to refine water use and irrigation planning along with improved prediction of crop yield along with the optimal selection of harvest date to maximise the quality of produce will assist wine companies and growers immensely. This technology will take the guesswork out of pertinent decision-making in a challenging and changing climate.