Arlington, VA — The U.S. Apple Association (USApple) and other specialty crop industries will convene at a national workshop today to identify common problems and solutions that will improve productivity and fruit quality.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service (CSREES) along with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are jointly sponsoring a workshop titled "Engineering Solutions for Specialty Crop Challenges," which will be held in Arlington, Va., on April 24-25, 2007. USApple will participate in the workshop along with researchers from a broad segment of engineering disciplines, specialty crop growers, government scientists and technology providers. The purpose of the meeting is to develop a community of scientists, industry members and private sector technology providers and start a coordinated interagency process to prioritize research efforts and link grower needs with potential funding sources.

"We hope to spark innovations in labor productivity, orchard management and fruit handling systems by bringing a diverse group of research engineers, growers and technology providers to the table," said USApple Vice President James R. Cranney, Jr. "We are using this workshop to create a process for researchers, technology providers and growers to communicate with each other. We are taking a unique approach to problem solving, because we are trying to access existing technology that may reside in government agencies that do not traditionally work on agricultural problems. NASA, NSF and USDA are already participating and we hope to expand the process to include the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy."

The apple industry is working with other tree fruit organizations, including peaches, pears, cherries, nectarines, plums and apricots, that have all joined the citrus industry, the wine and grape industry, berry industry and the California tree nut industry to identify common research needs and priorities. These industries have been working together for a year and a half to advocate for greater research for specialty crops.

"These groups are able to come together like this because there is a great deal of similarity between the needs and the solutions for the different commodities," said Cranney. "A concept that helps address a problem for the apple industry will likely have applications for other crops."

The world is changing for U.S. specialty crop producers, international competition is becoming fiercer and international competitors have fewer regulations and lower costs for inputs, especially chemicals and labor. The technology solutions identified at the workshop will open the door to facilitate the production of higher quality fruit at lower costs.

There are four key areas that will be focused on during the workshop: automation, sensor technology, precision agriculture and diagnostic tools.

"This workshop is the start of a process that will use an interdisciplinary approach to solve industry problems," Cranney noted. "Additionally, we hope to integrate all four of these research focus areas with other priority research, such as genetics and genomics, to reach new and innovative solutions."

These solutions will not only help the fresh industries, but are also targeted to packing and processing operations.

The ultimate goal for this workshop is to emerge with an action plan and a structure to keep the process moving forward. The industry is also asking for $5 million in seed money from the government to begin the research.

"This is not the end of the process, but only the beginning," said Cranney. "We are laying the groundwork to bring together technology providers, government agencies, researchers and specialty crop producers. This is an organized effort to develop a community and a framework to administer technology-based research to solve problems."

The effort is an expansion of the Tree Fruit Technology Roadmap that the U.S. Apple Association has championed for several years. The goal of the Roadmap is similar to the expanded effort - to improve production and reduce costs through the application of technology.

Note: The text of this release can be downloaded from the News Releases section of USApple's Media Web site, at http://www.usapple.org/media/newsreleases/index.shtml. The U.S. Apple Association (USApple) is the national trade association representing all segments of the apple industry. Members include 36 state and regional apple associations representing the 7,500 apple growers throughout the country, as well as more than 300 individual firms involved in the apple business. USApple's mission is to provide the means for all segments of the U.S. apple industry to join in appropriate collective efforts to profitably produce and market apples and apple products.