Shandong province showcased its strength as an agricultural powerhouse in China, exhibiting over 1,100 types of agricultural machinery at a modern agricultural equipment expo held in Jinan, the provincial capital, from May 10 to 12.

A Shandong-made apple-picking robot spotlights the modern agricultural equipment expo held in Jinan, Shandong province. [Photo/Dazhong News]

At the expo, an apple-picking robot made by the Shandong Agricultural Machinery Research Institute gained attention. The robot can determine the ripeness of an apple, locate it and pick.

"It has been upgraded to a four-finger design, mimicking the human action of picking by first grasping and then rotating. Additionally, the fingers are equipped with force sensors and rubber finger covers, which allow it to pick apples with just the right amount of force while also protecting the apple," said Yang Huawei, deputy director of the research institute.

Led by Professor Yin Xiang, a team from Shandong University of Technology has developed an unmanned pesticide-spraying robot that can operate without human intervention. This innovation allows farmers to stay away from the pesticide application site.

Meanwhile, agricultural machinery manufacturers are actively collaborating with research institutions to meet real-world needs through research and development. There are currently over 2,000 agricultural machinery manufacturing enterprises in Shandong, with an annual revenue of over 80 billion yuan ($11.11 billion) in the agricultural machinery equipment industry, accounting for one-fourth of the national total.

From planting and management to harvest and storage, Shandong's agricultural machinery used in each procedure has been improving to cater to ever-changing demands through the whole industry value chain.

According to statistics, the total power of agricultural machinery in Shandong has reached 122 million kilowatts, more than any other province in China. The comprehensive mechanization rate of crop cultivation, planting, and harvesting has reached 91.7 percent, which is 17 percentage points higher than the national average.