HortiBonn at the Horchimodel 2023 Symposium in Almería
From 26th to 28th of June 2023, horticultural modellers from all over the world met at the “International Symposium on models for plant growth, environments, farm management in orchards and protected cultivation”- Horchimodel 2023. The ISHS symposium took place at the University of Almería in the south of Spain.
The HortiBonn team contributed four oral presentations. Johannes Kopton gave a talk on “Robotic precision thinning in apple production - using optimization and Bayesian modeling to assess potentials of automation in horticulture”. Lars Zimmermann presented his study on the “Carbon footprint of training system selection in apple production”. Paul Daiber presented the result of his Bachelor thesis on “Process-based modeling of growth and development of cannabidiol-rich hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) cultivars grown in controlled environments”. Christine Schmitz talked about her model on “Decision support for selecting suitable frost protection methods for apricot orchards in Germany”. Dr. Anton Milyaev completed the HortiBonn travelling group.
Christine Schmitz was awarded with the ISHS young minds award for the best oral presentation at the symposium. The competition for this award was open to presenters who were registered as students and was endowed with a one-year elongation of the ISHS membership.
Overall, we heard many inspiring talks from all areas of horticultural modelling. The topics ranged from greenhouse modelling through virtual plants to several kinds of decision support systems. The technical tour gave us the opportunity to visit an olive oil producer and his orchard as well as the greenhouses from the University of Almería where we got an impression how dragon fruits, papayas, zucchini, and bell pepper are produced in southern Spain.
Beside the scientific program we could attend a Flamenco evening and a guided visit of “Alcazaba” an ancient fortress whose history dates back to the 10th century.
