R&D project whose objective is to improve the competitiveness in the market of organic red fruit cultivation, through the elimination of agricultural plastics, the implementation of ground cover plants using seed mixtures of native plants and the use of autonomous robotic solutions for the mowing of this cover. All this will promote the environmental recognition of farms in which these practices are carried out.
Greenhouse cultivation presents a number of challenges for growers. One of the biggest problems is the large amount of plastic waste generated by its use for mulching the soil, in order to control adventitious plants that compete with the main crop for resources. Currently, in the province of Huelva alone, four million kg/year of polyethylene are used in agricultural mulching.
This massive use of single-use plastic has serious environmental drawbacks.
In view of this problem, the use of ground covers of native ground cover plants instead of plastic appears as an optimal alternative, being, in addition, a carbon sink and a way to introduce biodiversity inside the greenhouse, as well as to improve soil fertility, among other benefits.
Thus, the main objective of this project is to dispense with plastic ridges and replace them with a natural plant cover for better soil management. This is possible thanks to the incorporation of an intelligent multipurpose robot, materialized in the form of an AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot), which performs the mechanical mowing autonomously by means of a mowing tool adapted to the geometry of the ridges, covering the soil with plant remains and providing organic matter as natural fertilizer.
The group is composed of the University of Cordoba, Ecovalia, Organiculture, CETEMET (metal-mechanical and transport technology center).
