High-tech broccoli picker cuts waste and saves labour

A Shropshire-based company has shown it is possible to produce palatable protein products from broccoli stalks, which have until now mostly been discarded by farmers at harvesting.

In a joint project with the UK Agri-Tech Centre and the James Hutton Institute, Upcycled Plant Power (UPP) has produced protein on a pilot scale from the 70% or so of the broccoli plant that is currently not used.

It is also developing a broccoli harvester that collects this extra biomass for processing.

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UPP aims to sell the end product to food manufacturers to displace alternative proteins such as soya.

That, it says, will reduce the carbon footprint and environmental harm and costs associated with these proteins, and help food manufacturers produce new foods that meet their Scope 3 regulatory obligations.

Labour-saving

Instead of harvesting only the heads of the broccoli, which can be labour-intensive and wasteful, the whole plant is cut by the automated broccoli harvester which has machine learning capabilities.

This identifies broccoli heads that are ready for consumption, while the rest of the plant is retained for protein production.

UPP says challenges with labour availability, coupled with rising wages and adverse weather conditions, often means British broccoli growers are unable to manually harvest everything they grow.

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The company’s chief executive, Mark Evans, thanked farmers who have helped with the trials.

“Getting the farmers’ perspective of what the technology needs to achieve is extremely important, and we have been fortunate to have received some fantastic input from the agricultural community,” he said.

The nutritional composition and environmental harm reductions have been externally validated by the UK Agri-Tech Centre and the James Hutton Institute.