The James Hutton Institute is playing a central role in a new UK research and innovation project that aims to make pollination in commercial fruit production measurable, manageable and more resilient, helping growers improve yields while supporting the development of future fruit varieties.
The 2-year project, Precision Pollination to Accelerate Breeding and Boost Productivity in Fruit Production, is led by agri-technology company AgriSound in partnership with Hutton Scientific Services (HSS).
HSS provides a comprehensive range of analytical, research and development and consultancy services, as well as plant breeding and licensing. It is committed to addressing global challenges by delivering impactful, science-led solutions to support a more sustainable future.
Pollination is the process that enables plant reproduction. It occurs when pollen is transferred from the male part of a flower to the female part, allowing fertilisation and seed production. Successful pollination is fundamental to fruit set, quality and marketable yield across the horticulture sector. However, many growers still rely on visual observations and standard hive recommendations to assess pollination levels, despite increasing challenges from changing weather patterns, shifts in pollinator populations and variation in pollinator activity between production sites
Increasing weather variability, changing pollinator populations and differences in pollinator activity across production sites mean growers often have limited evidence to identify pollination gaps or determine when intervention is needed.
Drawing on its expertise in crop genetics, plant breeding and pollination science, the Hutton will lead research to better understand how pollinator behaviour affects fruit production and how plant traits can be used to improve pollination outcomes.
Dr Susan McCallum, Soft Fruit Geneticist and Breeder at the Hutton, said: "We are excited to be working with AgriSound on this innovative project, combining cutting-edge technology with data-driven insight to better understand pollination and its impact on soft fruit productivity. This collaboration has the potential to deliver valuable, real-world insights that will help growers and breeders make more informed decisions and build a more resilient and sustainable future for fruit production."
The project builds on AgriSound's existing Precision Pollination platform, which uses its Polly bioacoustic in-field sensors, and AI analytics to monitor pollinator activity within crops. Together, the partners will expand the system to develop a multi-species, multi-crop approach capable of monitoring honeybees, bumblebees, solitary bees and hoverflies across strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and cherries.
Validation studies will combine acoustic monitoring with smart-tag observations, time-lapse imaging, environmental monitoring and crop performance assessments. The resulting datasets will help refine pollinator detection algorithms, improve understanding of how pollinator activity varies between crops and production systems, and establish clearer links between pollination activity, fruit set (the stage in which flowers successfully develop into fruits), yield and fruit quality.
Dr Casey Woodward, CEO of AgriSound, said, “Pollination is mission-critical to fruit production, but it is still too often managed through assumption. Our goal is to make precision pollination scalable across crops and useful as a day-to-day production tool."
The project also has important implications for fruit breeding. Hutton scientists will investigate how flower characteristics and plant genetics influence pollinator attraction and pollination efficiency, generating new evidence to support the development of fruit varieties that are both commercially successful and attractive to pollinators. The findings will help growers and breeders develop more resilient and sustainable production systems while improving the long-term productivity of the UK's fruit sector.