Sparter, Cerescon's selective asparagus harvesting machine, was put on transport to its owner at the end of March. The Dutch high-tech startup is thus waving goodbye to the world's first-ever sold selective asparagus harvesting robot. The machine was delivered to an asparagus farm in France. The machine's name was kept secret during the three years it was developed and assembled at Cerescon's facility in Heeze, North Brabant.
Sparter
Cerescon developed the Sparter in close cooperation with Brabant, Limburg and German asparagus growers. The selective asparagus harvester is for sale in a 3-row, 2-row and 1-row variant, with a harvest range of 50, 35 and 17 hectares respectively. All necessary functions are integrated into the robot: driving underground detection of asparagus, picking, plastic handling and sand bed recovery. The method of detecting and stabbing causes less damage to the asparagus, resulting in higher yields. Moreover, the asparagus does not discolour or flower. Mechanical harvesting not only yields more, but also better quality asparagus.
Future plans
For the 2019 asparagus harvesting season, Cerescon is producing six Sparters for sale. Several growers have applied for subsidies for this and some have already been granted. For subsequent years, Cerescon plans to double sales annually, with a maximum of sixty-five machines per year. Sales of the Sparters will start in the Netherlands, Germany and France. Thereafter, Cerescon will expand sales to other European countries where white asparagus is grown.
Exports outside Europe such as to Peru and Taiwan are also in the pipeline. A d Vermeer, inventor of the Sparter and co-owner of Cerescon: "We are only at the beginning of automated selective harvesting. The Netherlands is leading the way in agricultural innovation and we notice that there is interest from all over the world in what w e are doing here in Heeze."
Development Cerescon
In spring 2017, Cerescon presented the first beta - version of its selective asparagus harvesting machine, which was developed in-house. The company was founded in December 2014 and now employs 20 people. Last year, it received several national and international innovation awards.
Cerescon focuses on developing the Sparter to make harvesting easier. "Selective harvesting is very labour-intensive. Hand labour for harvesting is increasingly difficult to achieve. Horticultural businesses that depend on it can be preserved for the Netherlands and Europe with the help of robotics."
Source: Cerescon
