Biobest brings the Polly pollination robot to market for tomato growers
Biobest has launched Polly, a pollination robot for tomato growers. Trials show yield gains of 2 to 6 per cent, and 1.5 per cent covers the investment.
Biobest, the Belgian supplier of biological crop protection and pollination, announced on 27 October 2026 the market launch of Polly, a pollination robot for tomato growers. The robot was developed in collaboration with Arugga AI Farming, the Israeli robotics company behind the platform, over a period of five years, and was tested in commercial greenhouses in Europe and North America before release.
Tomato flowers are self-pollinating and already carry both pollen and stigma, so they need vibration rather than an insect visit. Polly uses cameras and image recognition to identify the flowers that are ready, then releases precisely timed bursts of air to shake the pollen loose. Biobest positions the machine alongside bumblebees rather than against them. Colony activity falls away on the darkest winter days, when short days, low light, LED supplementary lighting and energy saving thermal screens all work against the bees, and again in summer once greenhouse temperatures pass 35 degrees Celsius. Polly also serves tomato operations that do not use bumblebees at all.
The figures Biobest puts on the launch are specific and deliberately modest. Trials recorded yield increases of 2 to 6 per cent, and the company says a gain of 1.5 per cent is usually enough to produce a positive return on investment. A recent increase in operating speed means one robot now covers one hectare. A fully autonomous base is available from launch: the grower places the robot in the first row at the start of the day and it pollinates through the day without further intervention.
The product reaches growers two ways. Polly can be leased for 12 months through Biobest, with full warranty, maintenance, technical support and replacement parts included, or bought outright with a five year warranty, after which growers can extend the warranty cover or move to a remote support package. Jorden van de Walle, product manager for pollination at Biobest, describes the robots as providing “an additional layer of pollination security” alongside bumblebees.
For AgTech founders the number that matters here is not the yield range but the 1.5 per cent payback threshold. Biobest is selling against a biological incumbent that already works for most of the year and costs very little, so the robot cannot be pitched as a replacement. It is sold as cover for the weeks when the colony underperforms, which means the price has to sit below the value of that narrow window. Two things follow. First, a machine that covers one hectare and goes out on a 12 month lease is being sold against operating cash flow rather than a capital budget, which is how robots reach growers who will not sign a purchase order for an unproven tool. Second, the route to market is an agronomy sales force that already calls on these greenhouses every few weeks. Five years of development ended in a product carried by an existing distribution network and an existing advisory relationship, and for most ag robotics teams that channel is harder to build than the machine.
Biobest brings the Polly pollination robot to market for tomato growers
Five years of development with Arugga AI Farming end in a commercial launch. Trials recorded yield gains of 2 to 6 per cent, and Biobest says 1.5 per cent is usually enough to pay for the machine.
Biobest, the Belgian supplier of biological crop protection and pollination, announced on 27 October 2026 the market launch of Polly, a pollination robot for tomato growers. The robot was developed in collaboration with Arugga AI Farming, the Israeli robotics company behind the platform, over a period of five years, and was tested in commercial greenhouses in Europe and North America before release.
Tomato flowers are self-pollinating and already carry both pollen and stigma, so they need vibration rather than an insect visit. Polly uses cameras and image recognition to identify the flowers that are ready, then releases precisely timed bursts of air to shake the pollen loose. Biobest positions the machine alongside bumblebees rather than against them. Colony activity falls away on the darkest winter days, when short days, low light, LED supplementary lighting and energy saving thermal screens all work against the bees, and again in summer once greenhouse temperatures pass 35 degrees Celsius. Polly also serves tomato operations that do not use bumblebees at all.
The figures Biobest puts on the launch are specific and deliberately modest. Trials recorded yield increases of 2 to 6 per cent, and the company says a gain of 1.5 per cent is usually enough to produce a positive return on investment. A recent increase in operating speed means one robot now covers one hectare. A fully autonomous base is available from launch: the grower places the robot in the first row at the start of the day and it pollinates through the day without further intervention.
The product reaches growers two ways. Polly can be leased for 12 months through Biobest, with full warranty, maintenance, technical support and replacement parts included, or bought outright with a five year warranty, after which growers can extend the warranty cover or move to a remote support package. Jorden van de Walle, product manager for pollination at Biobest, describes the robots as providing “an additional layer of pollination security” alongside bumblebees.
For AgTech founders the number that matters here is not the yield range but the 1.5 per cent payback threshold. Biobest is selling against a biological incumbent that already works for most of the year and costs very little, so the robot cannot be pitched as a replacement. It is sold as cover for the weeks when the colony underperforms, which means the price has to sit below the value of that narrow window. Two things follow. First, a machine that covers one hectare and goes out on a 12 month lease is being sold against operating cash flow rather than a capital budget, which is how robots reach growers who will not sign a purchase order for an unproven tool. Second, the route to market is an agronomy sales force that already calls on these greenhouses every few weeks. Five years of development ended in a product carried by an existing distribution network and an existing advisory relationship, and for most ag robotics teams that channel is harder to build than the machine.
