Click on “Download PDF” for the PDF version or on the title for the HTML version.

If you are not an ASABE member or if your employer has not arranged for access to the full-text, Click here for options.

Abstract.

One of the tools for precision agriculture is crop yield prediction. In this paper, a fruit yield prediction method for peaches and apples early in the season is presented. Images of the peach and apple trees during the blossom period were acquired using a color camera from two sides, east and west. An image processing algorithm to detect and count the blossoms was developed. A fruit yield prediction equation that uses the blossoms counted from the east and west images was also derived. The number of fruit per tree was estimated using the fruit yield prediction equation. The estimated number of fruit and the actual number of fruit per tree had a correlation coefficient of 0.77. This means that this method has the potential to estimate the fruit number per tree and could also aid in fruit crop production through a orchard blossom map.