Burdekin mangoes have been outfitted with tracking devices last summer, in a bid to deliver a better quality of fruit to consumers. The pilot project aims to enhance monitoring of northern Australia mangoes as they are trucked from the farm gate to retailers.
Manbulloo Limited’s Horseshoe Lagoon property is the first Queensland site to trial the new monitoring technology after it was first trialled in the Northern Territory.
The Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia awarded $272,700 toward the $755,000 project which is being rolled out by Trust Provenance. T-Provenance was waiting for the mango harvest to hit full stride at the North Queensland property before rolling it out.
A network of sensors are being attached to fruit trays and pallets to track tens of thousands of mangoes on their journey from the farm to the retailer. The sensors will time stamp the fruit as it’s boxed, then provide real-time data feedback on temperature and humidity.
This data aims to help those along the supply chain better understand how various factors influence the quality of the fruit that ends up on consumers’ plates and provide retailers more information to help them reduce fruit spoilage and waste.
According to T-Provenance chief technology officer, Jackson Virgo, this was the first time the team have trialled the tech on a real-time basis, with further testing taking place in Mareeba earlier this year