I ka makahiki aʻe, e alakaʻi ke Kulanui o Tennessee Institute of Agriculture i kahi hui ʻepekema mai ʻeono mau hui hui e kōkua i nā mea kanu hānai e hoʻololi i ka automation hoʻopakele hana a me nā ʻenehana pili.
Wahi a kahi nūhou, ʻo Amy Fulcher lāua ʻo Natalie Bumgarner, nā kumu aʻoaʻo ma ka UT Department of Plant Sciences, he ʻāpana o kahi hui trans-disciplinary e komo pū ana i nā ʻekepeke, nā ʻenekinia, nā ʻepekema ʻano a me nā kumu kula horticulture kalepa. E hana pū ka LEAP (Labor, Efficiency, Automation and Production) me nā kahu hānai ma ʻAmelika e hoʻomaopopo maikaʻi i kā lākou mau pilikia hana, e ʻike i nā pilikia a me nā manawa kūpono i loko o nā ʻōnaehana nursery a hoʻoholo i ke kuleana o ka automation a me nā ʻenehana pili e pāʻani i ka hoʻoponopono ʻana i ka hemahema hana.
No nā makahiki he ʻumi i hala iho nei, ua komo ʻo Fulcher a me nā lālā ʻē aʻe o ka Hui LEAP i ka hoʻomohala ʻana i nā mea hoʻoheheʻe pesticide naʻauao no ka ʻoihana kahu hānai e hoʻohana ana i nā mea ʻike a me nā nozzles variable-rate e hoʻoponopono i ka noi i nā ʻano kino o kēlā me kēia mea kanu. Ua alakaʻi ʻia kēlā mau hana i kahi mea hoʻoheheʻe kūʻai ʻia a manaʻo ʻia e mālama i nā mea kanu ma mua o $200 no ka ʻeka i nā kumukūʻai pesticide. ʻO ka hana hou, ʻo ia hoʻi nā lālā o kēia papahana kūleʻa, ua loaʻa kahi haʻawina hoʻolālā $50,000 mai ka USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Specialty Crops Research Initiative a ua manaʻo ʻia e alakaʻi i nā hālāwai hoʻolohe a me kahi noiʻi e ʻike a hoʻonohonoho mua i nā mea e kūkulu ʻia. ʻenehana ʻenehana i nā ʻōnaehana hana hānai.
ʻO Margarita Velandia, kumu, a ʻo Alicia Rihn, kōkua kumu, ʻelua mai ka UT Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, i hui pū me ka LEAP Team a e hāʻawi i ka hana koʻikoʻi a me ka ʻike hoʻokele waiwai.
"Ma kahi kokoke i 80% o nā mea hana nursery e ʻike i ka hemahema o ka hana ma ke ʻano he hoʻoweliweli i ka wā e hiki mai ana o kā lākou ʻoihana," wahi a Fulcher. "Hāʻawi ʻo Automation i kahi manawa i hoʻohana ʻole ʻia e hoʻoponopono mau i ka hemahema o ka hana. E ʻike kā mākou hui i nā mea hoʻoikaika koʻikoʻi a me nā mea pale i ka hoʻohana ʻana i nā hana automated i mea e hoʻoholo ai i nā ala maikaʻi loa e kūkulu a lawe i ka ʻike outreach. ʻO ka hope loa, manaʻolana mākou e kōkua i ka hoʻololi ʻana i ka ʻenehana automated no ka ʻoihana nursery holoʻokoʻa, "hoʻomau ka loea hoʻonui a me ka mea noiʻi.
I kēia manawa, ʻo 17.5% wale nō o nā hana nursery maʻamau i hana ʻia. ʻO ka ʻāina holoʻokoʻa, ʻoi aku ka nui o ka hana hānai hānai ma mua o $ 4.2 biliona i ka ʻoihana a ʻoi aku ma mua o 800 mau kahu hānai ma Tennessee wale nō. Hiki i ka ʻenehana loea ke kōkua i ka poʻe mahiʻai e hoʻonui i ka loaʻa kālā a me ka like ʻana o nā huahana, e hoʻemi i nā kumukūʻai a pale aku i nā pilikia o ka nele o ka hana. Aia ka hui noiʻi i nā ʻepekema mai ʻeono mau ʻoihana: ke Kulanui o Tennessee, USDA ARS, North Carolina State University, University of Florida, Texas A&M University, a me Oregon State University.
Ma o kāna misionari hāʻawi ʻāina no ka noiʻi, ke aʻo ʻana a me ka hoʻonui ʻana, ua hoʻopā ke Kulanui o Tennessee Institute of Agriculture i nā ola a hāʻawi iā Real. Ola. Nā hoʻonā. utia.tennessee.edu.
Hiki i ka ʻenehana e hoʻomaʻamaʻa i nā hana kahu hānai, e like me nā mea hana i ʻike ʻia ma aneʻi, hiki ke kōkua i ka hoʻēmi ʻana i nā pilikia hana ma waena o ka ʻoihana. ʻO kahi haʻawina hoʻolālā hou i hāʻawi ʻia e USDA e kākoʻo i nā hana a puni ka ʻāina e ʻike i nā ala ʻē aʻe e hiki ai i ka automation ke kōkua i nā kahu hānai a me nā mea ulu. Kiʻi: Hines Nursery, McMinnville, Tennessee.