Management Information Systems for Tree Fruit—1: A Review

Abstract

A farm management information system (MIS) entails record keeping based on a database management system, typically using a client-server architecture, i.e., an information system, IS, coupled with a variety of tools/methods/models for the support of operational management. The current review adopts a multivocal approach to consider academic and commercial developments in MISs for orchard management, based primarily on the refereed literature but extending to grey literature and interviews of Australian mango orchard managers. Drivers for orchard MIS development include increasing the orchard size and management complexity, including regulatory requirements around labour, chemical spray use and fertilisation. The enablers include improvements in within-orchard communications, distributed (web) delivery systems using desktop and mobile devices, and sensor systems and predictive models, e.g., for pest management. Most orchard MIS-related publications target the commodities of apple, grape, mango and olive in the context of management of plant health (pest and disease), plant development, irrigation and labour management. Harvest forecast and MIS modules are only now beginning to emerge, in contrast to a long history of use in grain production. The commercial systems trend towards an incorporation of financial information, an integration of data from multiple sources and a provision of dashboards that are tailored to the user. Requirements for industry adoption of a MIS are discussed in terms of technical and design features, with a focus on usability and scalability.

Management Information Systems for Tree Fruit–2: Design of a Mango Harvest Forecast Engine

“…The novelty of the current manuscript lies in the description of the structure of the 'harvest forecast engine'. Practical use of such a 'harvest forecast engine' requires integration into a Management Information System with functions for data management, archival, analysis, visualization, and interpretation [1]. The design requirements for an effective harvest MIS software artefact are presented in Section 7.…”

“…To operationalize a harvest forecast MIS (Figure 9), consideration is required of how data (spatial and nonspatial) are to be stored, managed, and transferred between the different components of the MIS [23,24], and how data are best visualized, e.g., as tables, graphs, or maps, to inform decision making. As reviewed in [1], the evolution of farm MISs has seen a progression from 'stand-alone' desktop applications to cloud-based applications with mobile-device accessibility. A web-based system is therefore recommended, with raster-rather than vector-based map rendering and implementation at the client rather than server side, for rapid visualization of large data sets.…”

“…Issues with the development of a harvest forecast MIS (Table 7) were identified through (i) feedback from experts and growers involved in our data acquisition research, (ii) our previous literature review [1], and (iii) expanding our previous work on MIS development [40].…”

“…Commercial orchards require management of irrigation, plant nutrition, disease and pests, and tree canopy architecture to meet agronomic needs, and documentation of labor and chemical usage to meet administrative requirements. As reviewed in a companion paper [1], the development of electronic Management Information Systems (MISs) for tree-fruit management lags behind that for broadacre cropping. The existing orchard management systems have focused on issues with regulatory requirements, e.g., chemical and labor usage, with capacities more recently developing around management decision support, e.g., when to spray chemicals based on weather and pest pressures inputs.…”

“…Manual estimation of flowering level and fruit load can be time-consuming, resource intensive, and inaccurate. In consequence, orchard MISs for the forecast of harvest timing and load are relatively immature [1].…”