Electronic apple scanner transforming Nova Scotia's apple industry

A new, hand-held device reminiscent of Star Trek'stricorder scanning device is telling Nova Scotian farmers when an apple is perfect for picking.

The results are already transforming the province's apple industry.

"What this is doing is allowing us to come in and pick these at just the right time, so that when we bring these out of storage in a few months, they are just as good, just as fresh, as the day we picked them in the orchard," saidTim Stirling as he stands beside a bin of Honeycrisp apples at Stirling Mountainside Farms, near Centreville in the Annapolis Valley.

In his hand is a delta absorbance, or DA Meter. The Italian-made instrument is a bit bigger than a smartphone. It costs about $5,000, but it's worth it according to Stirling, one of four Nova Scotia growers using the gadget.

How it works and why it matters

Pulses of light reveal the peel'schlorophyl content a measure of ripenesswithout breaking the skin.

The DA Meter shows usersthe ripening stage of an apple while it'sstill on the tree and lets growers pick a single tree multiple times. Once harvested, a DA Meter reading can tell whether that crop is suitable for long-term storage.

In the case of Nova Scotia's most valuable variety, theHoneycrisp,picking a crop capable of long-term storage can be worth hundreds of dollars for every standard 362 kilogram bin. Stirling says getting it right can cut wastage by 50 per cent.

"We are able to maximize the dollar on the tree, maximize your dollar in the bin and maximize your return," he said.

This year, themeter readings advancedthe harvest of one crop by four days from the year before.

"This was telling us you need to get in there and you pick that crop now. And that's just what it did for my Jonagolds," he said.

He shares his findings with other growers. "I callScotianGold and tell them where I'm at and they are able to inform other growers around the Valley," saidStirling.

Now part of gate check at warehouse

At the nearby Scotian Gold Co-Operative in Coldbrook, technician Joan Hebb is at the gatehouse armed with a DA Meterfor the first time,checking every apple shipment that arrives.

The Co-operative stores and packs half of the 1.8 millionbushels of apples produced annually in Nova Scotia. It's estimated ths year Nova Scotia will produce 325,000 bushels of Honeycrispapples. The Co-operativehas two DA Meters.

Hebb decides which apples need to be sold soon and which can survive longer.

"If it goes into long-term storage, we have the advantage of being able to keep that fruit until the price in the marketplace comes up so it makes that fruit more valuable," she said.

Hebb was part of the Agriculture Agri Food Canada research team in Kentville that spent three years adapting the Italian-made DA Meter for use on Honeycrisps in Nova Scotia."It's amazing. I'm so excited. To spend all those years and to apply it to real life? It'sfascinating."

Could it work for grapes?

Lead scientist John DeLong says researchers tested thousands of apples before they were satisfied with the correlation.

His lab is now testing the device for crops likeAmbrosia, Jonagold, Gala and Cortland. They're also looking at using it in vineyards.

"It's a way for grape growers to look at [the] fruit and ask the questions are these clusters ready for harvest? and to do so quickly," he said.