If you work in commercial fruit production – whether citrus, table grapes, apples, avocados, or beyond - you’ve probably heard of Aerobotics TrueFruit.

You might also know that it’s “much more than just” fruit sizing.

From size and grade tracking, to bin insights, AI-powered smart sampling, fruit counts, yield estimations, and crop forecasting… TrueFruit is built to capture, analyse, and deliver the data you need to run a more profitable, efficient operation.

But here’s the reality I see every week in my own work with clients:
Most teams aren’t using TrueFruit to its full potential.

• Some have a great handle on the basics, but aren’t aware of advanced features that could save hours of scouting time.

• Others know the technology is powerful, but aren’t sure of the correct protocols for data collection - meaning their reports aren’t as accurate as they could be.

That’s why I’m creating the blog section: TrueFruit 101.

While many of the examples in this series will draw from citrus production, the principles, protocols, and tips apply equally to other fruit types such as table grapes, avocados, apples, pomegranates, cherries, blueberries, kiwis, and more.

What to Expect from This Series

Think of this as your always-available sit-down explainer – without the calendar juggling.
A place where you and your team can:

• Learn how each TrueFruit product works – TrueFruit Size, Grade, BinScan, AI Smart Sampling, Fruit Counts, and Yield Estimations.

• Understand the exact data collection protocols that deliver the most accurate results.

• Get practical, in-field tips for both mobile app and web platform use.

• See real-world examples of how to apply insights to marketing, harvest planning, and orchard management.

Each post will focus on one part of the platform, breaking it down for everyone from the scout in the orchard to the sales manager planning pack-house logistics.

Who This Is For

• Decision-makers who need reliable forecasts and clear reports.

• Farm managers looking to optimise harvest schedules and resource allocation.

• Scouting teams who want confidence in the data they collect.

• Marketing and sales teams that rely on accurate fruit size, colour, and grade predictions.

Why This Matters

When your data is consistent and reliable, every downstream decision improves. From irrigation adjustments to market negotiations. When it’s not, you’re working with blind spots.

The goal of TrueFruit 101 is simple: help you and your team remove those blind spots.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll cover everything from best-practice photo collection in the orchard to interpreting your online reports like a pro. By the end, you’ll have the confidence to use TrueFruit not just as a data tool - but as a competitive advantage.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for growing. See you in the next one.

The combination of thermal imagery, multispectral data, and real-time soil moisture readings is enabling something powerful… Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI).

The result? Efficient water use, lower energy costs, and fruit that’s consistently closer to the target peak size for your market.

The Traditional Approach – One Size Fits All

Conventional irrigation systems apply the same amount of water to every part of a block. It’s simple, but it assumes uniformity that rarely exists in real orchards and vineyards.

Soil texture, drainage patterns, root depth, slope, tree health, canopy size, crop load, and localised microclimates (and more!) all influence how much water a plant actually needs.

The outcome? Some trees end up overwatered, others stressed with too little. This leads to inefficiencies and wasted inputs and/or uneven fruit quality.

The New Approach? Data-Driven Precision

Instead of relying on visual checks or fixed irrigation schedules, VRI uses multiple data sources to guide every watering decision. These tools work together to identify stress, measure plant health, and pinpoint exactly where intervention is needed.

VRI changes the game by tailoring water application rates to the unique needs of specific zones. It works by combining…

• Thermal imagery: Identifies canopy temperature differences that signal water stress before it’s visible.

• Multispectral imagery: Tracks plant health via indices like NDVI and NDRE to pinpoint underperforming zones.

• Soil moisture probes: Deliver real-time data on water availability at different depths, showing exactly when (and where) to irrigate.

From Insight to Action - How VRI Works in Practice

Once the data is in hand, the process shifts from analysis to action.

The power of VRI lies in how seamlessly insights are converted into irrigation decisions, ensuring that adjustments happen at the right place and time.

Here’s the flow (excuse the pun) in high-performing VRI systems:

1. Survey & Mapping: A drone or satellite collects thermal and multispectral imagery, overlaying it with block maps.

2. Zone Definition: Data is analysed to create irrigation zones based on plant health, soil characteristics, and stress indicators.

3. Validations: In-field checks and probe readings confirm the findings, ensuring decisions aren’t made on imagery alone.

4. Prescription Maps: Variable rate maps are uploaded into the irrigation controller or pivot system.

5. Dynamic Adjustments: Soil probe data or advanced in-field telemetry triggers fine-tuning, ensuring plants get the right amount of water even as weather changes.

How Drone Data Informs VRI

One of the most powerful enablers of VRI is accurate, up-to-date aerial imagery.

Drones equipped with thermal and multispectral sensors can capture orchard or vineyard data at resolutions far higher than satellites or manned aircraft can.

This level of detail means stress patterns, soil variability, and canopy differences can be identified with precision; and acted upon quickly.

The process starts with a scheduled drone flight over the block.

Within hours, processed maps reveal:

• Thermal signatures: Canopies running warmer than their neighbours, are often a sign of water stress; or water-logged conditions where moisture uptake has halted in anaerobic conditions.

• Vegetation indices: NDVI or NDRE values that show where plant vigour is lower or nutrient uptake is uneven.

• Soil patterning: Variations in water retention linked to soil type or compaction, visible when paired with DEMs (digital elevation data).

• Canopy metrics: Size, density, and health variations that influence how much water a plant can use effectively.

Once these insights are layered into a GIS or irrigation management platform, they guide zone creation for VRI. Instead of applying the same irrigation recipe across the board, farmers adjust volumes and timing according to the actual conditions captured in the latest scan.

Drone-derived data doesn’t replace on-the-ground measurements.

It amplifies them.

By marrying aerial insights with soil probe readings and AgTech in-field telemetry solutions, production teams can make irrigation decisions that are both highly targeted and responsive to change.

In VRI, that combination is the difference between average and exceptional water management.

Benefits Beyond Water Savings

While reducing water use is a key driver for adopting VRI, the benefits extend deep into day-to-day orchard management.

In many operations, the irrigation system isn’t just delivering water… it’s also the main channel for fertilisers, trace elements, and bio-stimulants.

Precision in water delivery means precision in nutrient delivery. This ensures that inputs reach plants in the right place, at the right time, and in the right amount.

Here are some of the biggest advantages producers are seeing:

• Lower pumping costs: Less water moved means less energy spent.

• Improved fruit size uniformity: Balanced water distribution reduces small or misshapen fruit.

• Better yield quality: Optimal hydration supports sugar development, firmness, and storability.

• Reduced disease risk: Avoiding overwatering helps minimise fungal and bacterial outbreaks.

• Targeted nutrient delivery: Fertilisers and bio-stimulants applied through irrigation are distributed more evenly, reducing waste and improving uptake.

Yes, VRI requires investment in sensors, mapping, and control systems. But the payback comes quickly (often within a season) through input savings and higher pack-out rates.

A positive spin-off? Some producers report improved market access as they meet sustainability targets tied to water use efficiency. In a world where resources are under pressure, that’s a competitive edge worth having.

VRI isn’t about throwing out your current irrigation system. It’s about upgrading it (and your mindset) to think smarter and act faster.

Pairing remote sensing with soil moisture probes helps us in bridging the gap between data collection and real-time action. Turning precision irrigation from a concept into a daily reality.

By optimising both water and nutrient placement, VRI turns irrigation from a uniform task into a precision management tool.

The gains aren’t just in efficiency; they’re in healthier plants, better fruit, and a more predictable outcome at harvest.

In farming, every drop counts.

Modern day buyers want to know your fruit isn’t just fresh… they want proof of where it came from, how it was grown, and under what conditions.

That’s where input provenance and traceability come in.

From Provenance to Traceability

Input provenance is the documented history of every material, product, or treatment applied to your crop; from fertilisers and pesticides to growth regulators and biologicals.

Traceability builds on provenance by following the fruit itself from the orchard all the way to the consumer; tracking each step in the chain:

• Production: orchard block, planting date, rootstock, variety, agronomic history.

• Harvest: date, crew, block location, and conditions on harvest day.

• Post-harvest handling: pack-house, storage conditions, treatments, and cold chain management.

• Distribution: logistics, shipment ID, destination market, and customer.

In practice, traceability means that if a market issue arises (for example, a pesticide residue breach or a fruit defect) you can trace it back to a specific lot, orchard block, or even spray event.

Why It Matters for Citrus

• Regulatory compliance: Traceability is now a legal requirement in most export markets.

• Market access: Premium buyers prefer, and increasingly demand, verifiable supply chain records.

• Risk management: Rapidly identify and isolate problems to protect your brand and minimise losses.

• Consumer confidence: QR codes and blockchain-backed traceability are becoming marketing tools in premium retail spaces.

Without reliable provenance and traceability, you’re relying on “trust me” in a world where buyers demand “show me”.

The Link to In-Field Sampling

Provenance and traceability are only as strong as the sampling that validates them. That’s where field sampling strategies come in:

• Randomised / AI-guided block sampling: Avoids bias and gives representative coverage of your orchard.

• High-risk zone sampling: Focus on areas with different soil, drainage, or canopy conditions that might respond differently to inputs.

• Historical change detection: Compare today’s samples with past years’ results to spot trends or anomalies.

In citrus, sampling doesn’t just confirm compliance, it gives you early warnings.

For example:

• Nutrient analysis can reveal deficiencies before visual symptoms appear.

• Residue sampling can confirm whether your spray intervals are sufficient before picking starts.

The Role of Digital Data Capture

Traditionally, sampling, provenance, and traceability records were scattered across paper books and spreadsheets. That’s changing fast.

Modern orchard management tools now allow you to…

• Log every input application in real time via mobile app.

• Link sampling data directly to specific blocks or even tree clusters.

• Upload lab results and match them against application and harvest records.

• Integrate GPS and drone imagery to add location precision to traceability.

• Generate compliance and export-ready traceability reports with one click.

When sampling results, provenance data, and movement records live in the same system, you can not only prove compliance but also make faster, data-backed management decisions.

From Orchard to Exporter to Market

A verified traceability system isn’t just for auditors. It’s an asset. It makes your fruit more attractive to buyers who demand supply chain transparency and want to reduce their sourcing risk.

It also keeps you in control when problems arise. Instead of recalling entire shipments, you can isolate affected lots quickly and keep the rest moving.

In closing….

For citrus producers, input provenance, traceability, and robust field data are no longer “compliance chores”. They’re strategic advantages.

Those who master them will not only protect their market access; they’ll strengthen buyer trust, justify premium prices, and secure a place in the most demanding global markets.

Have you taken a look at the Aerobotics solutions?

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AgTech, long considered a niche investment, is becoming central to operational resilience and gaining the competitive edge.

The Real-World Problems That Still Demand Attention

Even large, vertically integrated citrus operations are grappling with these persistent challenges:

• Labour Shortages & Rising Wages
  Automation is not only attractive, it’s becoming essential. Harvesting, pruning, spraying, etc require more labour than many producers can reliably access.

• Water Scarcity
  Extended droughts, prolonged high temperature spells, erratic rainfall, and declining water rights are placing enormous pressure on irrigation scheduling and orchard design. Water efficiency is now a strategic imperative, no longer a “sustainability goal” idea penned for future attention.

• Energy Costs
  Rising fuel and electricity prices are impacting everything from irrigation pumps to pack-house operations. Without optimised systems, energy costs are quietly (but furiously) eating into already narrow margins.

• Pest and Disease Pressure
  Citrus specific biological threats are moving faster than most scouting methods can detect. By the time human eyes identify an issue, significant damage is often done.

• Data Fragmentation
  Despite years of investment in farm management software, few operations have succeeded in integrating everything from in-field telemetry and sensors, to yield and market forecasts, all into one actionable system.

• Carbon and Compliance Pressures
  Retailers and governments alike are asking more about carbon footprints, spray records, biodiversity action plans, and input provenance. The pressure to prove sustainability is mounting.

The Emerging Technologies Gaining Ground

Here’s where AgTech is stepping in with real promise:

• Computer Vision for Yield Forecasting and Fruit Sizing
  AI-powered imagery platforms (ie. TrueFruit) are enabling pre-harvest yield estimation and accurate sizing predictions. This supports marketing, pack-house prep, and enhanced orchard ROI models.
  

• Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Sprayers and Harvesters
  Companies like GUSS (Global Unmanned Spray System) are changing how large farms apply inputs. Improving uniformity, reducing drift, and running multiple machines with minimal staff.
  

• Irrigation Optimisation Platforms
  Remote sensing (thermal + multispectral) paired with real-time soil moisture probes is driving variable rate irrigation (VRI). The result? Higher efficiency, lower energy costs, and improved fruit size uniformity.
  

• Drone-Driven IPM and Biological Control Deployment
  Precision aerial release of beneficial insects is already happening in vineyards and citrus orchards. SkyBugs and similar startups are deploying natural enemies to reduce pesticide reliance.
  

• Digital Twins and Predictive Models
  Some of the more advanced operations are building ‘digital twins’ of their orchards – integrating tree health, microclimate, irrigation, and forecast data to simulate outcomes and test interventions before acting.
  

• Blockchain for Supply Chain Traceability
  For exporters targeting premium markets, end-to-end digital traceability is becoming a differentiator. Technologies like blockchain-backed tracking for cartons are seeing uptake, especially where food safety and origin assurance is non-negotiable.

What Citrus Executives Should Focus On

Interoperability, not novelty.
Your tech stack must talk to itself. Point solutions that can’t integrate with ERP or agronomic tools are a sunk cost.

To avoid this, ensure your tech stack is built with interoperability in mind, focusing on systems that can communicate with each other to streamline workflows (and data flow), preventing data silos; while improving overall efficiency.

ROI and scale-readiness.
Not every innovation scales to 1,000 hectares, or 10,000, or more. Vet pilot-stage technologies through the lens of operational complexity, not curiosity alone.

Some AgTech solutions are mind-blowing.

But do they scale, and can they fit into your organisation with minimal disruption to the inner workings of the business machine?

Focus on talent, not tools alone.
AgTech success hinges on people who can translate data into decisions.

Seriously consider training up-and-coming agronomists, not only IT support, on technologies and innovations.

Empowering practicality with technology, with a healthy dose of youthful enthusiasm will take your operations to the next level - and beyond.

Data ownership and platform control.
Who owns the data when you partner with a third-party provider? How secure is your proprietary performance insight?

The Cost of Waiting

The biggest risk isn’t buying the wrong tool; it’s standing still.

As consumer preferences shift, regulation tightens, and climate pressure mounts, agility will be defined by the speed of insight and response.

AgTech won’t replace citrus experts. But it will reward those who can blend technology with traditional wisdom.

This is no longer about adopting a gadget. It’s about rethinking the business model of citrus production… from tree to trade.

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That insight from Nicolás Juste, Project Coordinator at Anecoop, captures the challenge faced by one of the world’s largest fruit cooperatives: aligning supply and demand with precision.

Based in Spain, Anecoop represents a second-degree cooperative made up of 70 first-degree cooperatives and over 21,000 farmers.

Their reach spans Europe and beyond, supplying citrus to a wide variety of clients with different sizing and timing requirements.

With so many growers and so much fruit moving through their system, Anecoop turned to Aerobotics and its TrueFruit platform to better forecast fruit size development, streamline sampling, and sharpen campaign planning.

Citrus at Scale: Coordinated Quality

Anecoop exports and markets a broad range of fruit crops, including:

• Clementines and mandarins

• Navel and juicing oranges

• Lemons

• Persimmons, watermelons, and pomegranates

In such a diverse product portfolio, being able to measure and compare performance across regions, varieties, and farms is essential.

As a project coordinator, Nicolás Juste is responsible for sourcing, testing, and implementing new agricultural technologies across Anecoop’s test plots.

Only the tools that demonstrate a clear improvement are rolled out to their farmers.

After evaluating multiple options, Anecoop selected Aerobotics’ TrueFruit platform as a key part of their digital transition.

How TrueFruit Supports Anecoop’s Citrus Operations

For Anecoop, a successful campaign begins with understanding fruit development early in the season. The team uses TrueFruit to collect size data from individual blocks and predict future size distributions, which supports both sales forecasting and client allocation.

The process includes:

• Weekly scanning of fruit in the field to build accurate growth curves

• 50-day harvest forecasting based on current size trends

• Mobile phone data collection by cooperative members and farm staff

• Real-time upload to dashboards, allowing central teams to monitor block-by-block development

• Size-based allocation to clients, matching blocks to commercial requirements using visual indicators in the app

By building and tracking growth curves over time, Anecoop’s team can predict final fruit sizes well before harvest. This enables more confident commercial planning and reduces last-minute surprises.

Reducing Costs, Increasing Efficiency

One of the most tangible benefits of Aerobotics’ technology for Anecoop has been the reduction in manual sampling costs. Before adopting TrueFruit, estimating fruit size at scale was labour-intensive and inconsistent.

Key benefits observed include:

• Lower cost per sample compared to traditional methods

• Faster, more frequent data collection

• Increased visibility for central planners and commercial teams

• Greater autonomy for cooperative members, who collect data themselves

• More accurate block allocation for high-value clients

As Nicolás explains, profitability in agriculture increasingly depends on adopting technologies that improve speed, visibility, and accuracy. For Anecoop, TrueFruit has delivered on all three fronts.

Watch the Testimonial

Anecoop’s journey with Aerobotics has been captured in a short video featuring Nicolás Juste and their in-field approach to citrus growth tracking.

Summary: Key Aerobotics Advantages

• Weekly field-based fruit size scanning

• Growth curve forecasting up to 50 days in advance

• Integration with 70 cooperatives and 21,000 farmers

• Real-time dashboards for commercial teams

• Reduced labour and sampling costs

• Improved matching of blocks to client requirements

• Scalable, efficient, and easy to use

Anecoop’s success shows what’s possible when large-scale agricultural networks adopt the right technology. With Aerobotics, they have brought precision and predictability to a complex supply chain – one that demands speed, transparency, and quality at every step.

To learn more, visit Aerobotics' Anecoop Success Story.

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That line from Randy Stucky, Director of Harvesting and Grower Relations at Bee Sweet Citrus, says it all. In an operation where real-time matters, the right data makes all the difference.

Located in California’s fertile Central Valley, Bee Sweet Citrus has been a family-run, vertically integrated citrus operation for over 30 years. From growing to packing to sales, they manage the full value chain – with a strong focus on freshness, efficiency, and quality.

To achieve that, they’ve partnered with Aerobotics, using drone-derived data and fruit sizing tools to streamline decision-making and maximise returns.

“As a modern farmer, you can’t afford not to use technology. Every little advantage helps.”
– Randy Stucky, Bee Sweet Citrus

🍊 A Citrus Powerhouse

Bee Sweet produces and markets a full range of citrus, including:

• Mandarins (including seedless and specialty varieties)

• Navel and Valencia oranges

• Lemons

• Grapefruit

• Cara Cara oranges

• Minneola tangelo’s

• Pummelo’s and other specialties

Their success rests on managing quality and supply across these products – and that’s where Aerobotics’ technology plays a key role.

Tech in the Field: How Aerobotics Supports Bee Sweet Citrus

From the moment fruit begins to mature, Bee Sweet’s field teams are already planning. Using Aerobotics’ TrueFruit™ platform and size distribution data, they can forecast what’s coming out of each orchard block – not in vague terms, but in real numbers.

Here’s how they use the tools to bridge the gap between orchard and packhouse:

• Real-time fruit sizing: Scan citrus in the field and get immediate feedback on size distribution. No waiting. No guesswork.

• Dynamic harvest planning: Match orchard data with sales and packhouse timelines. Bee Sweet doesn’t stockpile fruit – the data helps them move fast.

• Better sales coordination: Know which sizes are trending, which are harder to sell, and adjust picking priorities accordingly.

• Ease of use: Tools like TrueFruit are designed for field teams – even someone new can use them within minutes.

• Collaborative development: Bee Sweet provided feedback directly to the Aerobotics team, helping refine features that paid off in later seasons.

“We’re their eyes out in the field – the more accurate the data we give the packhouse, the better they can plan.”

From Insight to Action

In an industry where timing is everything, Bee Sweet Citrus shows what’s possible when traditional farming knowledge is backed by precision tools.

Aerobotics hasn’t just delivered a product – they’ve co-created a solution that supports every step of the Bee Sweet harvest cycle.

It’s not about replacing people. It’s about empowering them to make sharper decisions, faster.

🔍 Learn More

🎥 Watch the Bee Sweet Citrus video below and see how data is shaping their decisions in real time:

Summary: Key Benefits of Aerobotics for Bee Sweet Citrus

• Real-time fruit sizing in the field

• mproved packhouse coordination with predictive data

• Early insights into hard-to-sell size distributions

• Direct feedback loop between Bee Sweet and Aerobotics

• Intuitive tools built for field staff

• Higher efficiency with lower waste across the value chain

Want to learn how your citrus operation can benefit from drone-derived insights?
Explore Aerobotics’ citrus solutions at aerobotics.com

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AgTech solution such as TrueFruit helps in reducing these wait times; speeding up the feedback loop in-season, so farmers can be proactive instead of reactive in how they produce their crops.

AC Foods is a vertically integrated citrus company in California. With approximately 2000 orchard hectares, monitoring fruit growth with certainty is a challenge. But AgTech strategies are removing the guesswork.

Encompassing varieties like Sumos, Navels, Valencias, lemons, and grapefruit... they place a strong emphasis on growing the right piece of fruit at the right time.

Leveraging technology can form part of a comprehensive range of farming activities. Like supporting good decision-making processes in real-time.

This includes considering factors like water application, fertiliser use, and pruning. All in relation to the actual growth of the fruit during the season.

This approach contrasts with older more traditional methods. Where as we know, there is often a lag in receiving information, and being able to take action... which could be costly.

The integration of TrueFruit allows AC Foods to track fruit growth curves throughout the season. By incorporating target growth curves into the platform (how much the fruit should ideally grow per week or month within the season) they can see if they are on track to hit their goal sizes.

Scouts use a the mobile app to take fruit size measurements throughout the month and compare them against these growth curves. This process involves in-field checks, followed by accessing the data online.

These reviews capture the progress of their different varieties within the season. This capability is impactful, as it provides insights into how fruit is developing versus the planned picking time.

For Nick Theis, this data "tells a story," enabling AC Foods to review past practices to identify successes and areas for improvement. “This ability to analyse performance and learn from it, is a key benefit of using tech like TrueFruit.”

Long-term, this information allows AC Foods to provide advance notice to the sales team, informing their harvest plans. The sales team in turn relays information to stakeholders further along in the supply chain.

Before adopting Aerobotics, AC Foods used electronic fruit measureres (EFMs). These are still common in the industry. However, many dislike these because EFMs restrict early morning fruit sizing. And these restrictions delay data compilation.

For added value, AC Foods is exploring the use of Aerobotics' X-Trials features. Where they will be able to monitor the impact of water application on fruit size, aiming to ensure they are applying the right amount of water.

X-Trials is a peripheral add-on solution to the in-field fruit sizing. Scouts size fruit at sample points that are compared to controls (in research fashion) to gain in-depth insights.

In essence, it's clear that at AC Foods, the core principle of "the right size fruit at the right time" is fundamental to their farming practices. And across all varieties.

For AC Foods, having this kind of data readily available, and on a single platform has been a "game changer".

The core TrueFruit product is split into two major sub-solutions.

1. In-field Fruit Sizing and Grading (AKA “TrueFruit Grade”)

2. Post-harvest Fruit Sizing and Grading (AKA “TrueFruit BinScan”)

The TrueFruit supported crops types - at time of writing:

• Size + Grade + BinScan: Citrus, Apples

• Size + Grade: Cherries, Blueberries, Grapes

• Size only: Stone Fruit, Pomegranates, Avocados, Macadamias, Pears, Kiwi

Request a demo

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The core TrueFruit product is split into two major sub-solutions.

1. In-field Fruit Sizing and Grading (AKA “TrueFruit Grade”)

2. Post-harvest Fruit Sizing and Grading (AKA “TrueFruit BinScan”)

   1. “Grade” insights may include: fruit colour or blemish information or both - depending on the crop type.

The TrueFruit supported crops types - at time of writing:

• Size + Grade + BinScan: Citrus, Apples

• Size + Grade: Cherries, Blueberries, Grapes

• Size only: Stone Fruit, Pomegranates, Avocados, Macadamias, Pears, Kiwi

Request a demo