Practical Experience with Smart Orchard Technologies at Elit-Fruct, Moldova — Video • EastFruit

This article and video present the practical experience of a real horticultural business in Moldova that adopted modern technologies through trial, experience and a clear focus on market requirements. These technologies have proved capable not only of reducing costs and increasing output and product quality, but also of lowering the environmental footprint of production and opening up new market opportunities.

We thank the management of Elit-Fruct for their openness and willingness to share their experience with colleagues from other countries. The visit was organised under the FAO/EBRD initiative on climate and environmental sustainability in the agrifood sector, within subcomponent 2.2.3, ‘Greening the Fruit and Vegetable Value Chain in Uzbekistan’, with the support of the Federation of Agricultural Producers of Moldova, FARM.

In this video, participants in the study tour learn how a modern fruit enterprise in Moldova operates, with production technologies treated not as isolated interventions but as an integrated system — from orchard establishment and crop protection to irrigation, fertigation, energy supply and cold-storage infrastructure. Vitalie Bostan, the company’s chief agronomist, speaks candidly about the farm’s experience.

The enterprise covers around 100 hectares. Approximately 70 hectares are planted with apples, about eight hectares with apricots and more than 20 hectares with plums. The apple orchards are established as super-intensive systems on the dwarfing M9 rootstock. The farm grows several Gala, Golden and Fuji clones and other apple varieties, while its plum varieties include Top Hit, President and Angelina.

According to the farm representative, most of the nursery trees were imported from Italy. Italian specialists assisted with orchard design and establishment, advised the farm during the initial stages and continue to work with the company today.

A weather station as a cost-saving tool, not merely a source of weather data

One of the most interesting parts of the visit concerns the use of an automated weather station.

It records rainfall, wind speed, temperature, humidity and other indicators required for orchard management decisions. Before scheduling a treatment, for example, specialists can check the expected wind speed and determine whether spraying can be carried out safely and effectively.

The weather station also helps identify periods of elevated infection risk. Farm representatives explain that it is connected to the RIMpro disease-forecasting system. The system helps assess how effective the previous treatment was, whether the orchard remains protected and whether another application may be required.

Particular attention is paid to the dew point. Daytime temperatures may be too high for a treatment to perform effectively. At night, conditions become more suitable, but once dew forms, the product may be partially washed from the leaves, reducing its effectiveness. The objective is therefore to identify the short window when the temperature has fallen but dew has not yet formed.

The farm representative stresses that treatments should be applied only to dry leaves. In his view, it is practically impossible to identify the right timing accurately without a weather station.

FAO economist Andriy Yarmak notes that reducing the number of applications does more than lower expenditure on crop-protection products and diesel fuel used by tractors. It also reduces environmental impacts, contributes to decarbonising production and, most importantly, creates broader market opportunities. Private standards imposed by modern importers, particularly supermarket chains, are often considerably stricter than statutory food-safety requirements for fresh fruit and vegetables. Reducing the use of crop-protection products can therefore help producers meet tighter pesticide-residue specifications and access new fruit marketing channels.

How avoiding a single treatment can pay for a weather station

The video presents an interesting economic argument in favour of digital monitoring.

According to farm representatives, high-quality marketable apples may sell for around EUR 0.80 per kilogram, while fruit sent for processing may be worth only about EUR 0.10. A decline in quality can therefore reduce revenue several-fold.

A weather station does not itself increase the number of fruit on the trees, but it can help preserve a higher proportion of marketable output. If a necessary treatment is missed and apples are affected by scab or another disease, a substantial share of production may be downgraded from fresh-market fruit to processing raw material, resulting in major losses.

A further benefit is the reduction of unnecessary treatments. This lowers expenditure on products, fuel and labour, while also reducing the risk of exceeding permitted pesticide-residue levels.

Asked about the cost of the equipment, the farm representative gives a figure of approximately EUR 3,000 and argues that savings from a single treatment may equal or even exceed the cost of the weather station.

The figures are potentially even more striking. At an apple yield of 50 tonnes per hectare, a 10 per cent reduction in the marketable share of the crop can result in a revenue loss of around EUR 3,000 per hectare. The enterprise has 100 hectares of orchards, while one weather station costs approximately EUR 3,000. Provided that the equipment is used effectively, the payback period can therefore be almost immediate.

Thinning: fewer apples, but higher revenue

A substantial part of the discussion is devoted to fruit thinning.

In some orchard blocks, thinning is carried out by hand. Workers remove excess fruit and aim to leave one apple in each cluster.

The farm representative explains that this is linked to the characteristics of particular varieties. Where the fruit stalk is short and two apples develop side by side, the fruit begin to press against each other as they grow. One may fall, become misshapen or suffer damage. A fruit growing on its own also tends to colour better and develop a more attractive appearance.

Manual thinning, however, requires a large workforce and is expensive. The farm therefore also uses chemical thinning.

According to the specialists, chemical thinning is undertaken in several stages: during flowering, when the fruitlets are around four millimetres in diameter, and again when they reach approximately 10–12 millimetres. Four treatment stages are mentioned in total.

Even correctly timed chemical thinning does not guarantee a perfect result every season. Weather conditions and plant responses vary, so in some years the farm still has to bring in additional workers to remove excess fruit by hand.

Andriy Yarmak notes that many countries are now actively introducing drone-based systems to monitor flowering intensity on individual trees. The required spray volume can then be calculated for each tree and transferred to the spraying programme. This can help even out flowering intensity, improve average yields and quality, reduce thinning costs and limit biennial bearing.

Why maximum yield may not be the most profitable outcome

One of the video’s central messages is that the aim of a modern fruit grower is not simply to harvest as many tonnes per hectare as possible.

For some red-skinned varieties, farm representatives consider approximately 45–55 tonnes per hectare to be the optimal yield. A heavier crop load increases the risk of biennial bearing: after an exceptionally large crop, a tree may produce significantly less fruit in the following season. FAO experts note, however, that these risks can be mitigated through more effective management of all orchard operations, more uniform crop load per tree and optimised fertigation.

For Gala, Golden and Granny Smith, the farm considers yields of around 60 tonnes per hectare acceptable. In some years, yields of 70–75 tonnes have been achieved for varieties including Fuji and Golden.

Average yield across the enterprise is estimated at approximately 60 tonnes per hectare, with higher-yielding varieties offsetting those that produce less.

According to the farm’s chief agronomist, however, the more fruit left on a tree, the smaller the average fruit size. This directly affects revenue because, according to company representatives, smaller apples are becoming increasingly difficult to sell. Buyers prefer larger size grades and are prepared to pay more for them. Crop-load management is therefore not merely an agronomic operation: in practice, the farm is balancing maximum tonnage against a higher value per kilogram.

Andriy Yarmak notes that large apples are in greatest demand in Central Asia and across the post-Soviet region. In the European Union, by contrast, excessively large fruit may be sent for processing, while demand is concentrated primarily in medium size grades. In most Asian countries and in many African markets, demand often favours smaller apples.

Almost 4,000 trees per hectare

The orchard is planted at approximately 3.2 metres between rows and 0.8 metres between trees within the row.

At this density, around 3,906 trees are planted per hectare. The orchard shown in the video is approximately ten years old.

Trees grown on M9 rootstock have a compact root system and require permanent support. Tall posts have therefore been installed to support both the trees and the protective netting.

Farm representatives state that the posts are approximately 4.7 metres long. Around 80 centimetres are driven into the ground, leaving the structure approximately 3.9 metres high above the surface.

Hail netting and climate change

The orchard is protected by hail netting, whose primary purpose is to prevent hail damage to the fruit.

Participants ask whether the netting can also protect apples from sunburn. Farm representatives explain that it provides some shade, but that the effect is relatively limited because the system was installed primarily for hail protection.

The owners also report that climatic conditions have changed noticeably over the past three years. Summers have become much hotter and rainfall has been extremely limited. This increases the importance of irrigation, fruit protection and precise crop-load management.

FAO experts note that, in Uzbekistan, hail netting with a shading effect is essential for preventing fruit sunburn. Under such conditions, protection from solar radiation may be its primary function, and this trend is emerging in many countries worldwide.

Fire blight management and caution with copper

During the visit, participants note the absence of visible fire blight damage.

Farm representatives explain that copper-based products are used in spring, autumn and, when temperatures permit, during winter. Such treatments are rarely applied in summer.

The reason given is that copper can slow the growth of young shoots. Farm specialists therefore stress the need for caution and for treatments to be aligned with the crop’s stage of development.

Drip irrigation and water from the Dniester River

The farm uses drip irrigation. Emitters are spaced at approximately 40-centimetre intervals, with a stated discharge rate of around 1.6 litres per hour per emitter.

Water is drawn from the Dniester River. The owners report no significant problems with either availability or quality, noting that the same river is one of the main sources of drinking water for Chișinău and a large part of Moldova.

Water acidity is adjusted more substantially for foliar treatments. Irrigation water is not normally acidified continuously, although phosphoric acid is used during certain periods. According to the farm representatives, this helps lower the pH slightly while also flushing the drip lines.

Fertigation and plant nutrition management

Nutrients are delivered through the drip-irrigation system. Iron, magnesium and calcium nitrate are among the inputs mentioned in the discussion.

Some fertilisers are applied through the drip system and others as foliar treatments. Boron-containing products are also used in spring and autumn, while the nutrition programme is adjusted according to the crop’s growth stage and condition.

A dedicated fertigation unit is used to prepare and deliver nutrient solutions. Participants are shown three tanks, two pumps, two filters and a computerised control system.

This allows water and fertilisers to be distributed between individual blocks and enables more precise control of the irrigation system.

Why night-time irrigation may be more efficient, but the farm sometimes irrigates during the day

The company’s chief agronomist notes that, from an agronomic perspective, night-time irrigation is often considered more efficient because lower temperatures reduce evaporative water losses.

The farm, however, has its own solar panels. It therefore aims to carry out part of its irrigation during the day, when it is generating electricity and can operate pumps with lower expenditure on purchased power.

Andriy Yarmak adds that, biologically, plants require most of their water during the day: night-time water use accounts for only around 10–20 per cent of daily consumption, while daytime demand can represent 80–90 per cent. Combining solar generation with daytime irrigation therefore reduces both operating costs and the carbon footprint of production.

The storage reservoir: why bigger is not always better

When the enterprise was established, a large reservoir was built to store irrigation water. Over time, however, the owners encountered a problem: when water remains exposed to sunlight for long periods, it heats up and algae begin to develop rapidly.

The reservoir is therefore not kept full continuously. Water is pumped in, used for irrigation and then replenished.

The geomembrane retains the water but does not resolve the problems associated with heating and exposure to sunlight. During the discussion, participants refer to farms where reservoirs are covered to reduce evaporation or where solar panels are installed above them.

Such a solution can shade the water, reduce evaporation and generate electricity for pumps at the same time. At this farm, panels are currently installed on the roofs of production buildings, although the company representatives expressed interest in the idea.

Cold storage and energy infrastructure

The farm has a modern controlled-atmosphere cold store and a grading line that fully meet its needs for storage, sorting, packing and other post-harvest and pre-sale preparation of the fruit.

The farm representative notes that the roof of the cold store, along with other suitable roof areas, is covered with solar panels. On-site electricity generation therefore powers not only irrigation pumps but also forms part of the enterprise’s wider energy infrastructure.

Super-intensive plum production

In addition to the apple orchard, participants visit a block of Angelina plums.

Planting density is approximately 1,560 trees per hectare, with about four metres between rows and 1.6 metres between trees.

Plums also normally require manual thinning. In the season shown, however, the farm did not undertake it because a substantial proportion of the fruit dropped naturally. Farm representatives report that both physiological fruit drop and the results of chemical thinning were generally favourable that year.

Main conclusion

The video demonstrates that a modern fruit enterprise involves far more than planting trees at high density. Performance depends on the combination of dozens of interconnected decisions, including:

 the correct choice of variety and rootstock;
optimal crop load per tree;
manual and chemical thinning;
management of fruit size and marketable quality;
weather-station data and digital disease forecasting;
precise treatment timing;
drip irrigation and fertigation;
hail protection;
water-quality management;
the use of renewable energy;
and infrastructure for storing, grading, preparing and packing the final product.

The most important economic lesson is that high yield does not automatically translate into high profit.

The farm’s objective should not simply be to produce the maximum possible volume of apples, but to maintain a stable supply of high-quality marketable fruit with the cleanliness and size grades required by the market.
It is the ability to integrate agronomy, technology, economics and infrastructure that turns an intensive orchard into a modern, competitive enterprise.