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Foto credits: NOI Techpark I Marco Parisi
Producing around one million tonnes of apples a year, South Tyrol is one of Italy’s foremost apple-growing regions. The ability to detect plant stress early would therefore represent an important step towards greater sustainability. The Fusion Grant project APPLE, run by Plantvoice and the Center for Sensing Solutions of Eurac Research, explored exactly how this could work.
Assessing the health of apple trees is complex. Weather and soil data offer valuable clues – but how does the tree itself respond to its conditions? Plantvoice is tackling precisely this question. Founded in Bolzano in 2023, the start-up is developing a digital agricultural platform that integrates a patented sensor technology that detects changes in the tree’s sap. It is designed to help growers spot signs of stress promptly and irrigate as needed. “If we can see stress early, growers can respond in a more targeted way,” says co-founder and CEO Matteo Beccatelli.
A probe about the size of a toothpick is inserted into the trunks of selected trees. These act as sentinel plants: an early-warning system for the whole orchard. “What’s interesting about the sensor is that it can measure the plant’s health by analysing its sap,” says project leader Roberto Mendicino of Eurac Research.
The biocompatible probe records sap flow
and changes in salinity. The
readings are transmitted, analysed and displayed on a digital dashboard. This
allows growers to tell when their trees need extra water – ideally before
stress becomes visible to the naked eye.
Foto credits: NOI Techpark I Marco Parisi
The APPLE project set out to answer one central question: can the probe’s signals reliably indicate water stress? To find out, the project team installed sensors on a test plot in Terlan and in the outdoor laboratory LIDO – Laimburg Integrated Digital Orchard in summer 2025. The Laimburg Research Centre supported the trial in apple orchards and vineyards. The Center for Sensing Solutions of Eurac Research was responsible for the measurement technology and used artificial intelligence to examine how the signals from irrigated trees differ from those of drought-stressed trees.
When the
project ended in spring 2026, the initial findings were in: the data revealed
patterns that indicate water stress. At the same time, the project showed why
such field trials are important. Frequent rain made drought stress difficult to
study, and the measurement period was limited. Further tests will help improve the reliability of detection under different
growing conditions.
Foto credits: NOI Techpark I Marco Parisi
For Plantvoice, the results bring the technology one step closer to everyday use in fruit growing. Meanwhile, NOI Techpark supports the start-up, connecting it with research partners and advising it on R&D questions.
The APPLE
project was funded from 2025 to 2026 through Fusion Grant, an initiative of the
Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano (the South Tyrolean Savings Bank
Foundation) in cooperation with NOI Techpark, Südtiroler Wirtschaftsring –
Economia Alto Adige and Rete Economia – Wirtschaftsnetz. Fusion Grant brings
companies and research institutes together and gives young researchers under 40
opportunities to contribute to real-world projects.
Foto credits: NOI Techpark I Marco Parisi
