“Each year, fruit growers spend about 20 percent of their labor costs on pruning vines and trees. Peter Hirst, an associate professor of horticulture, is leading a program to develop and improve machines that use cameras and robotic arms to do the work. Hirst received a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Specialty Crops Research Initiative, with another $3 million in matching funds from industry partners and institutional funds.”

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