MECHANIZING THE HARVESTING AND ORCHARD HANDLING 



OF FRUITS 



Changes are taking place in the harvesting and handling of certain fruits. The 

 actual picking of the fruit is being mechanized and the harvest is thereafter han- 

 dled in bulk lots. Aids are also being developed to increase handpicker efficiency. 



The Agricultural Engineering Research Division (AERD) of the Agricultural 

 Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Division's predecessors, 

 pioneered this mechanical handling and harvesting of fruit. In 1949, it initiated re- 

 search to improve handling. Today, over 80 percent of the deciduous fruit har- 

 vested in Washington, Oregon, Michigan, and California are economically and con- 

 veniently handled in the orchard by methods worked out and recommended by 

 AERD. 



In 1955, AERD began research designed to mechanize fruit and berry harvest- 

 ing. While this research is still in its infancy, many of its developments have been 

 accepted by many growers in Michigan, California, New Jersey, and elsewhere. 



Today, AERD, in cooperation with several States, is studying the mechanical 

 handling and harvesting of the following: Apples in Washington; peaches, apricots, 

 prunes, and dates in California; citrus fruit in Florida and California; and apples, 

 sweet and sour cherries, grapes, and blueberries in Michigan. 



SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS RESEARCH 



Crops that cannot be harvested cannot be utilized. And many fruit and berry 

 crops in the United States may not be utilized in the future unless research finds 

 ways to harvest them mechanically. The reason: Scarcity of labor to do the har- 

 vesting and high costs when labor is available. In 1962, for example, growers re- 

 ceived 4.7 cents per pound for their cherries but had to pay 21/2 to 3 cents per 

 pound to handpickers. Each year thousands of pounds of berries are not harvested 

 because growers cannot find enough handpickers. 



Many fruit and berry growers may be forced out of business before research 

 can solve their harvesting problems. If this prediction comes to pass, the consumer 

 will be the ultimate loser. 



Since mechanized harvesting usually means faster harvesting than handpick- 

 ing, methods to improve and speed up harvest handling are imperative — else advan- 

 tages accruing to speedier harvesting will be lost. Fruit held too long in boxes or 

 baskets spoil just as rapidly as the unharvested on the bush or tree. 



SOME OBJECTIVES AND CONSIDERATIONS 



The ultimate objective of this AERD research is to enable one man to do the 

 work formerly done by many. But the quality of mechanical harvests must equal or 

 surpass the quality of handpicked harvests and the harvesting must not injure the 

 tree or bush. In California, Michigan, and elsewhere, where harvests of some fruits 

 are extensively mechanized, these objectives are being realized. 



