IMPROVEMENTS IN HANDLING 



Before 1949, the fruit and berry harvests were gathered in small "lugs", bushel 

 baskets, or small crates. Each container was then handled separately — lifted and 

 stacked onto trailers, wagons, or trucks to be carried out of the orchard, and then, 

 perhaps, lifted and stacked many additional times before being dispatched to market. 

 To carry 1,500 bushels of apples out of an orchard, for example, required six men, 

 three trailers, and two tractors. 



Today, however, one man operating lift equipment and handling the harvest on 

 pallets or bulk boxes can move nearly as many apples in an 8-hour day. AERD 

 is also working on a machine to pick up filled boxes of fruit or produce spotted be- 

 tween rows, and other devices and systems. 



Pallets 



Pallets are essentially low, portable, double-faced platforms upon which smaller 

 containers can be placed. They are made in such a way that lift equipment can pick 

 them up, and raise, lower, and usually stack them in one continuous operation. 

 Thirty to 60 containers, each containing 40 pounds of grapes or other fruit, can be 

 handled simultaneously as a unit on one pallet. 



Bulk Boxes' 



Bulk boxes are large boxes constructed on pallets. They may hold 15 to 40 

 bushels and carry between 800 and 1,500 pounds depending on box size and kind 

 of fruit. They can be lifted, carried, and stacked in one continuous operation, the 

 same as pallets, with lift equipment operated by one man. Their initial cost is less 

 than the cost of a pallet and, perhaps, 20 small containers. They seem to be more 

 durable than small containers and are not easily lost. Special equipment may be 

 needed to empty them. Only growers who have lift equipment can utilize bulk boxes 

 advantageously. AERD estimates that an apple grower who produces 8,000 crates 

 of apples would find investing in lift equipment and bulk boxes feasible. 



Bulk-box handling methods that AERD developed have become standard prac- 

 tices in all fruit-producing areas of the United States and Canada. During 1962, 

 over 50 million bushels of apples, pears, peaches, and prunes were handled in bulk 

 boxes, thereby reducing production costs about $2 million. 



Lift Equipment 



ARS 42-20 lists seven types of lift equipment, descriptions of which are sum- 

 marized below. 



Industrial Forklift Trucks 



These trucks are the most effective of any for lifting, moving, and stacking unit 

 loads. Growers who pack or store and pack their fruit should provide themselves 

 with this type of lift equipment for use in and around their packing and storage 

 areas. Because these units are heavy, have small tires, and have very little clear- 

 ance, they cannot be operated on the soft, uneven ground usually found in orchards. 



' ARS 42-20, "Equipment Used by Deciduous Fruit Growers in Handling Bulk Boxes," dis- 

 cusses bulk boxes and lift equipment more fully. This publication is available from the Agricultural 

 Engineering Research Division, ARS, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Plant Industry Station, 

 Beltsville, Md. 20705 



