Managing apple orchard decline

The problem

Using Tree Insights, the farm manager detected health variance across the block as well as a clear pattern from his high resolution imagery.

He selected the problem areas for an in-field investigation, as he suspected there might be a nematode infestation present.

The Aeroview InField mobile app guided him directly to these areas, where he sampled for nematodes and sent them to a laboratory for testing. 

The results came back positive and the extent of the infestation seemed to be more severe than he initially anticipated. 

The solution

Tree Insights revealed the number of potentially affected trees, 1,956 out of a total 6,433 – or 30% of the orchard – as well as their exact locations. 

To avoid an even greater yield loss, the farm manager decided to take out the affected trees and plant a new cultivar set grafted onto rootstocks with a higher resistance to nematodes.