A citrus mechanical harvesting demonstration and a discussion of Brazilian citrus farming were among presentations at Demo Citrus 2025, held in Seville, Spain in late January.
Harvest+ demonstrated a robot harvesting oranges. Harvest+ is a consortium of Fundecitrus, Move Agro and the Andalusian Institute for Research and Training in Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Organic Production in partnership with Pek Automotive.
“It was exciting to witness the robot picking oranges one by one, with its six arms,” said Fundecitrus Executive Director Juliano Ayres. “It is a prototype based on the equipment used in apple harvesting. The simple fact that we already have this test represents a great advance and hope for innovation.”
Ayres also reported on the current state of citrus farming in Brazil in a Demo Citrus panel titled Global Perspective of the Citrus Sector. His lecture focused on the advance of citrus greening and the risk it poses to Brazilian citrus. He also discussed the research Fundecitrus is conducting, including in the biotechnology arena.
“Greening is the biggest challenge in our citrus industry and does not establish boundaries for contamination,” Ayres said. “Therefore, it is important to share our knowledge about its impacts and, mainly, to outline the path toward effective control and mitigation measures provided by our knowledge from years of studies.”
Process specialist Marcella Freitas, who is part of the Harvest+ project, participated in Demo Citrus on the Mechanization, Robotization and Digitalization panel. The project aims to improve citrus harvesting processes.
Demo Citrus brought together professionals, researchers and companies to discuss innovations and practices in citrus cultivation. The program included lectures, field demonstrations and exhibitions of agricultural equipment and technologies. Demo Citrus’ objective is to promote the exchange of knowledge and updates on the latest trends and advances in citrus.
Source: Fundecitrus
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