Question.4234 - Read the Wall Street Journal article âAI Comes to the Apple Orchardâ.  Use the production and cost theory you learned in this chapter to analyze it. How can AI contribute to making apple production more cost-effective? Can AI help in optimizing resource allocation in the production? How? What are the potential benefits and challenges of relying on AI ?Your analysis should be double spaced and a maximum 2 pages.Â
Answer Below:
After reading the article,“AI Comes to the Apple Orchard (Benfield, 2025),” I learned that apple farming, like many other types of farming, has always relied on manual labor for tasks like pollination, trimming, fertilizing, and picking. But as labor costs keep going up and there’s more demand for bigger harvests and sustainable practices, farmers need new solutions to make apple farming more efficient and affordable. One way to do this is by using artificial intelligence (AI) and robotIntegrating AI in the production of Apple reduces labor costs and increases efficiency. As we all know, tasks like pollination, pruning, fertilization and harvesting requires a lot of manual labor and the cost of these labor is one of the biggest costs in agriculture. Additionally , increasing the wages of these labor and the difficulty level of hiring seasonal workers has even made it costlier. Therefore, I believe that AI – powered robots can provide an effective solution by automating these labor- intensive processes. For instance, robots are designed in such a way that it helps with pollination without relying on bees, which are becoming less common because of environmental problems. They also have unique smart cameras which can spot places where apples blossoms and deliver pollen to them, making the pollination process more reliable and successful. This means orchards don’t have to hire as many people for the job, saving money on wages while still getting consistent, high-quality fruit. In addition to reducing labor costs, AI can significantly enhance the allocation of resources, making apple production more sustainable and cost-effective. Apple’s orchid should efficiently use resources such as water, fertilizer and energy for maximizing yields while minimizing waste. They have AI – powered fertilizing robots which can optimize the delivery of fertilizers by analyzing soil conditions, tree health, and growth patterns. These robots have advanced sensors and software that figure out the specific nutrient needs of each tree and give them the right amount of fertilizer. This helps avoid using too much fertilizer and reduces harm to the environment. By doing so, farmers can reduce their costs from purchasing excessive fertilizers. Integrating AI in apple orchards has many benefits such as increasing productivity, maintaining sustainability, better quality and scalability. Robots can work all day, everyday and this makes tasks like picking apples faster and more efficient, allowing farmers to produce more in less time. Since apples are treated gently, there’s less damage or bruising, meaning farmers can sell top-quality produce.AI helps use resources like water and fertilizer more wisely, reducing waste. This makes apple farming more environmentally friendly, which is increasingly important as people focus on sustainability (Benfield, 2025). As AI becomes more affordable, even large orchards can adopt these technologies without needing extra workers. This helps apple farms grow bigger and more efficient without a major increase in labor.While AI offers a lots of benefits, there are some challenges that come with relying on this technology. Orchards need to buy the robots, maintain them, and train workers to use them. This can be a big upfront investment and setting up AI robots can be expensive. Like any technology, AI robots can have problems. They may break down or malfunction, which could cause delays in production. Farmers and workers will need to learn how to use these new robots. They might need training to operate the systems and troubleshoot problems.ReferencesBenfield, C. (2025, February 7). AI Comes to the Apple Orchard—From Pollinating to Picking (via Passle). Passle. https://www.bbeb.com/post/102jytd/ai-comes-to-the-apple-orchardfrom-pollinating-to-picking
.ico)
.ico)
.ico)
.ico)
