AgriSound and UK Berry Growers Launch ADOPT Smart Pollination Project

AgriSound is pleased to announce the launch of a major new grower‑led innovation project funded through the Innovate UK ADOPT programme, bringing together commercial growers, researchers and technology providers to trial a demand‑led, precision approach to pollination management in UK soft fruit production.

The 18‑month project titled, “Smart pollination management for soft fruit crops using bioacoustic sensors and AI‑driven analytics”, will run across commercial strawberry farms operated by Tasker Partnership in Nottinghamshire and P J Stirling Ltd in Scotland, both supplying BerryWorld. AgriSound will provide real‑time pollinator monitoring technology, with York St John University delivering independent analytical support.

Soft fruit production is one of the UK’s highest‑value horticultural sectors, yet growers face rising input costs, labour shortages and increasingly variable weather conditions. Pollination remains fundamental to fruit yield and quality, but is still commonly managed using fixed assumptions around hive numbers, placement and replacement timing.

A new evidence‑led approach to pollination

The project aims to treat pollination as a measurable and manageable biological process rather than a fixed input. Across a 20‑hectare commercial strawberry production area, AgriSound’s in‑crop bioacoustic sensors will continuously monitor pollinator activity during flowering, giving growers objective, real‑time visibility of pollination performance.

During the 2026 season, sensors will be deployed alongside standard farm practice to establish a robust baseline of pollinator activity, hive management and crop outcomes. Insights from this phase will inform a replicated commercial‑scale trial in 2027, where evidence‑led decisions will guide hive placement, replacement timing and targeted pollination interventions.

Current estimates suggest that up to 14% of fruit can be lost or downgraded due to uneven pollination, significantly affecting farm profitability.  The project aims to reduce these losses, improve fruit quality and make more efficient use of pollination resources without increasing inputs.

Grower‑led collaboration

The project brings together expertise across commercial growing, research and technology delivery. PJ Stirling will lead on‑farm implementation, Tasker Partnership will coordinate grower‑led trial design, York St John University will integrate sensor data with hive logs, weather and crop records, and AgriSound will deliver the sensing and analytics platform underpinning the work.

Milko Rodopski, Head of Technical at Tasker Partnership and project lead, said:

“Pollination is one of the most important processes in strawberry production, but it is also one of the least measurable. This project gives us an opportunity to better understand what is actually happening in the crop during flowering and make decisions based on evidence rather than assumptions.”

Dr Theocharis Kyriacou of York St John University added:

“This project is exciting because it focuses on practical adoption under real commercial conditions… the learning generated should provide valuable guidance for the wider soft fruit sector on how precision pollination tools can support productivity and sustainability.”

Casey Woodward, Founder & CEO of AgriSound, said:

“Pollination has traditionally been treated as a ‘black box’ in horticulture. By combining bioacoustic monitoring with AI‑driven analytics, we can start giving growers objective insight into pollination performance across their farms in real time. This project is an important step toward making pollination more measurable, manageable and efficient.”

The project supports wider UK food security and sustainability goals by helping growers recover existing productivity losses through smarter management of existing resources rather than increasing inputs.

Knowledge sharing and wider impact

Findings will be shared through grower networks, industry events, case studies and on‑farm knowledge exchange activities to support adoption across pollinator‑dependent sectors including soft fruit, top fruit and protected horticulture. Shared through grower networks, industry events, case studies and on‑farm knowledge exchange activities.