Cypress Lane Estate: Human or Mechanical Harvesting?

Harvesting labor is the largest annual variable operating expense for apple ( Malus × domestica ) orchard enterprises and is subject to escalating costs and shortages. In Europe, much of the cider apple harvesting is done with machinery, greatly reducing production costs. However, despite a rapid increase in hard cider production in North America over the past 15 years, mechanical cider apple harvesting has not been widely implemented. In this study, we compared mechanical with hand harvesting costs for model 5-, 15-, and 60-acre cider apple orchards located in New York using a partial budget model. Scale-appropriate harvesters were identified for use at each farm scale. Sensitivity analyses were used to test the cost differential for using each piece of machinery on varying orchard sizes and to model changes in labor costs. Across all orchard scales, we found that mechanically harvesting cider apples was more profitable than hand harvesting, with larger operations breaking even sooner and realizing greater returns than operations using hand harvesting. Mechanical harvesting costs broke even with hand harvesting in years 16, 7, and 5 and by year 30 reduced cumulative harvesting costs by 23%, 52%, and 53% in our 5-, 15-, and 60-acre model orchards, respectively. Increasing the orchard size resulted in greater returns from mechanical harvesting. Using the machinery in the 15-acre orchard scenario on a 30-acre farm resulted in costs breaking even with hand harvesting in year 3; by year 30, the cumulative costs resulted in 66% lower harvesting costs than hand labor. Mechanical harvesting remained profitable when labor wages were decreased and became more profitable in scenarios with increasing wages. For example, in the 60-acre orchard, mechanical harvesting cost 41% less than hand harvesting with a 2% annual compounding decrease in labor wages; with 2% annual compounding increase in labor wages, the mechanical harvesting cost was 63% less than hand harvesting. In addition to the cost savings, mechanical harvesting allows for harvesting cider apples with fewer logistical challenges, such as contracting, housing, and transporting migrant labor.

Mechanized harvesting technologies with shaking systems for fruit industry have been widely investigated and significantly developed over the past several decades which were presented by a large amount of literature. This paper reviews the research and development progress of mechanized harvesting of fruits systematically with a focus on the theoretical study, fruit crop variety, shaking system categories, abscission chemical agents, and their actual applications. Based on the comprehensive review, mechanized harvesting systems for different fruit crops appear multifarious shaking modes with various vibratory mechanisms and structural dimensions. Major advantages in the development of fruit mechanical harvesting with effective vibratory patterns and catching frames provide a series of economic and agronomic benefits, such as reducing labor costs, promoting standardized planting, and increasing productivity. However, fruit injury and tree damage are the main reasons why mechanical shaking systems are rarely used for fresh fruit harvesting because of tenderness and frangibility of the fruit crops. Therefore, more efforts should be concentrated on the innovative shake-and-catch system with suitable frequency and amplitude to achieve low fruit damage or even nondestructive harvesting for fresh fruit market. This overview summarized the advantages and bottlenecks of these shaking systems for fruit harvesting and proposed the challenges and some constructive prospective viewpoints aimed at the major issues of mechanical harvesting techniques. In addition, employing sorting technologies to classify the postharvest fruits provide a new direction for the further development of mechanized harvesting in high-value fruit crops, as well as bring more benefits to growers and increase their interest in equipment investment on the mechanical shaking harvester for the fruit industry. Keywords: fruit crop, mechanized harvesting, shaking system, fruit injury, postharvest classification DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20231601.7954 Citation: Pu Y J, Wang S M, Yang F Z, Ehsani R, Zhao L J, Li C S, Xie S Y, et al. Recent progress and future prospects for mechanized harvesting of fruit crops with shaking systems. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2023; 16(1): 1–13.

Chapter 8 - Harvesting

Abstract. Mechanized agriculture plays a key role in the overall socio-economic development of any community in terms of food security, value addition, employment, poverty alleviation and export earnings. In Bangladesh, it is essential to ensure agricultural mechanization, especially in rice harvesting system to increase production and cropping intensity. The main objective of the study was to identify the present rice harvesting practices in southern delta of Bangladesh and was also to assess the manual and mechanical harvesting systems of rice with impact on socio-economic status of Bangladesh by reducing labor cost, infield harvesting losses and harvesting time. Several experiments were conducted to compare between mechanical and manual harvesting systems. Mechanical harvesting of Aman-2016 rice and Boro-2017 rice was conducted using reaper and a mini-combine harvester at Dumuria, and Wazirpur Upazilas of Khulna and Barisal districts, respectively of Bangladesh. Manual harvesting of rice was also conducted at the same locations. The results showed that manual rice harvesting cost was 24400 BDT/ha, and on the other hand, harvesting cost using mini-combine harvester and reaper were found 10123 BDT/ha and 13152 BDT/ha, respectively. Harvesting loss of rice can be reduced 5.12% and 2.14% using mini-combine and reaper, respectively in comparison to manual harvesting system. Farmers can invest the financial benefit of mechanical harvesting system to other agricultural sectors like poultry, fishery, vegetable and fruits production. As a result, total agricultural production might be increased and helped to contribute significantly to the development of socio-economic status of rural community of Bangladesh.

The economics of mechanical harvesting of wine grapes depend on many factors including vineyard location, value of the crop, availability and cost of hand labor, the efficiency of fruit removal, and transport from the catching frame to the gondola. This report describes general performance and identifies juice loss in mechanically harvested cane pruned Chardonnay in Napa Valley. The crop was harvested using a cane shaker (pivotal striker), trunk shaker (rotary pulsator), and a hand crew. Fruit collected in each replication was weighed, assessed for stem content, crushed, and made into wine. Sample vines within each replication were evaluated for fruit not removed, second crop, and ground loss. Results indicate <i>(1)</i> no significant difference in quantity of fruit delivered to the winery, <i>(2)</i> significantly higher stem content and significantly more unharvested fruit in the hand harvested treatment, <i>(3)</i> no significant difference in ground loss, and <i>(4)</i> significantly higher levels of second crop removed by the mechanical harvesters. Adjusting actual yield taking into account cluster stem content, fruit left on the vine, ground loss, and the second crop harvested by machine and not by hand crews, the mechanical harvesters yielded 5.7% to 8.0% less crop to the winery due to juice loss. The value of the juice lost from the mechanical harvesters was offset by the lower cost of operating the mechanical harvesters. Wines produced from the harvest treatments exhibited minor detectable differences but were all high quality Chardonnay wines.

The prospect of immigration policy reform has renewed growers' concerns of serious labor shortages and cost increases because a large portion (at least 53%) of the workforce in agriculture is unauthorized for U.S. employment. This concern of labor cost increase is more serious for specialty crop agriculture, not only because it is highly labor intensive, but also it requires labor in a very short period, particularly at harvest time. Agricultural employers may address the increased labor cost, especially harvest cost in various ways, but likely options include adoption of mechanical harvesting. If we focus on adoption of mechanical harvesting, the most imminent effect of immigration policy reform might be on crops mainly used for processing for which labor-intensive technology is currently employed, but an alternative, less labor-intensive technology is already developed. Florida citrus is a current example of a major specialty crop with these characteristics. In addition, the Florida citrus industry is facing many difficulties, from recent hurricanes to new diseases to increased international competition, all of which may urge immediate mechanization of harvesting operation intended for cost reduction. Currently, the estimated cost of mechanical harvesting of Florida oranges for juice processing suggests a significant cost advantage over hand harvesting, but the adoption of mechanical harvesting systems remains relatively low at about 7.5% of the Florida orange acreage. In order to study the mechanization-investment decision by the Florida citrus farmers, we firstly estimate the value for two operational modes (hand and mechanical harvesting) using the net present value (NPV) approach. While, the NPV approach simply compares NPVs from the two operational modes, the real options approach (ROA), which applies financial option theory for investment in real assets, assumes that the farmer does not invest until the NPV of the mechanical harvesting operation is greater than that of the current operation by margin of the option value of investment. Option valuation with early exercise features with multiple stochastic factors has the so-called dimensionality problem. The ROA study for the Florida citrus mechanization is one of these cases since there are at least four stochastic factors: price, yield, production cost, and harvest cost. We overcome this dimensionality problem by using the least squares Monte Carlo simulation (Longstaff and Schwartz 2001) which solves the dynamic optimization problem posed by the Bellman equation, where the value of continuation is computed on the basis of a regression on cross-sectional data.

At a time of increasing demand, the extremely high cost of manual labor required to harvest fruit in table olive groves is limiting the economic survival of the crop in many producing countries. New grove designs and management practices such as superhigh-density (SHD) groves now in use in oil olive production should be explored as an option to facilitate mechanical harvesting in table olives. The feasibility of two table olive cultivars, Manzanilla de Sevilla and Manzanilla Cacereña, to be harvested in a 5-year-old SHD grove (1975 trees/ha) was studied in 2012 when trees of both cultivars formed highly productive continuous hedgerows (≈10,000 and 18,000 kg·ha −1 , respectively). The differences between manual and mechanical harvesting using a grape straddle harvester were evaluated taking into consideration harvesting time, efficiency in fruit removal, and fruit quality both before and after processing as Spanish-style green olives. The average harvest time per hectare with a grape straddle harvester was less than 1.7 hours compared with 576 person/hour or more when done manually. Fruit removal efficiency was high in both cases, 98% for mechanical treatment and 100% for hand treatment. Mechanically harvested fruits had a high proportion of bruising damage (greater than 90%) and the severity of the damage was greater in ‘Manzanilla de Sevilla’ than in ‘Manzanilla Cacereña’. After Spanish-style green processing, however, the proportion of bruised fruits was below 3% in each cultivar. The fruit size in both cultivars was suitable for table olive processing and only 7% and 4% of ‘Manzanilla de Sevilla’ and ‘Manzanilla Cacereña’ fruits, respectively, were diverted to oil extraction as a result of insufficient size. Small differences were found between processed ‘Manzanilla Cacereña’ fruits that were manually or mechanically harvested. In contrast, mechanically harvested ‘Manzanilla de Sevilla’ fruits showed a significantly higher proportion of cutting (18%), a type of damage that may take place during harvesting, and lower firmness and texture than those harvested manually.

The fresh market apple industry currently relies on manual labor for all harvesting activities. The lack of mechanical harvesting technologies is a serious concern because of rising labor costs and increasingly uncertain labor availability. Researchers have been working for several decades to develop mechanical harvesters for tree fruit. The two fruit removal methods considered include mass mechanical harvesters and selective harvesting with robotics technology. Whereas mass mechanical harvesters have demonstrated unacceptable damage rates, robotic systems have been limited by insufficient speed and robustness. This paper describes the design and analysis of a novel underactuated end-effector fabricated for the robotic harvesting of tree fruit. The device has been optimized around a set of target tasks, the most critical being speed, low complexity, suitability for a highly variable field environment, and the replication of hand picking so as to minimize fruit damage. Development of the end-effector has been facilitated by a thorough study of the dynamic forces involved during the manual harvesting of apples. The end-effector produces a spherical power grasp with a normal force distribution and picking sequence replicating selected human patterns. An underactuated, tendon-driven device with compliant flexure joints has been adopted to improve system performance in the presence of position errors as well as enhance robustness to variable fruit size, shape, and orientation. The prototype end-effector also uses minimal sensors and incorporates open-loop control to reduce complexity and improve picking speed. This paper presents the theoretical analysis of the end-effector kinematics and discusses the selection of key geometric parameters. Experiments have been conducted to determine the normal forces developed during grasping of the apple. Results indicate that open-loop, feedforward control can be used to produce optimal normal force patterns.

Paddy in Bangladesh is an important cereal crop for national food security. Harvesting is the process of collecting mature paddy from the field. Timely harvesting operation is known as crucial and influential processes on quantity, quality and production cost of paddy. The aim of the study was to assess the manual and mechanical harvesting systems of paddy in southern delta region of Bangladesh in terms of labor cost, infield harvesting losses, and time required for harvesting. Several experiments were conducted to compare mechanical and manual harvesting systems. Mechanical harvesting of Aman paddy (November-December 2016) and Boro paddy (April-May 2017) was conducted using two models of reaper and a mini-combine harvester at Dumuria and Wazirpur Upazilas of Khulna and Barisal districts, respectively. An experiment was also conducted at the same locations to determine labor requirement and time for harvesting paddy manually. To determine manual harvesting loss, an experiment was conducted at BAU farm, Mymensingh. Total cost savings in paddy harvesting were found 52% and 37% for mini-combine harvester and reaper, respectively over manual harvesting system. Similarly, labor savings using mini-combine harvester and reaper were found 65% and 52%, respectively over manual harvesting system. The total harvesting losses (including harvesting, threshing and cleaning) were also found 1.24%, 4.22% and 6.36% for using mini-combine, reaper and manual harvesting systems, respectively. The results indicated that manual harvesting is a slow and cost involving system. On the other hand, lack of awareness among farmers about the benefits of mechanical harvesting system and lack of skill manpower for operating and servicing harvesters are major barriers for adopting mechanized harvesting system in southern delta region. This study revealed that mechanical harvesting of paddy using either reaper or mini-combine harvester will assist to strengthen food security in southern delta of Bangladesh.&#x0D; Progressive Agriculture, Vol. 30, Suppl. 1: 57-64, 2019

Specialty crop farmers have expressed concern about labor shortages and cost increases which may arise with immigration reform. The large-scale mechanization of the Florida sugarcane harvest during the 1970s/80s serves as an historical example of how technologies evolved due to changes in local labor market conditions.

The prospect of immigration reform has renewed farmers’ concerns of serious labor shortages and cost increases, which may urge highly labor-intensive specialty crop farmers to switch to less-labor-intensive technology. The large-scale mechanization of the Florida sugarcane harvest during the 1970s/80s serves as an historical example of how technologies evolved due to changes in local labor market conditions. We analyze the dynamic decision-making process of sugarcane farmers in the relevant period using net present value (NPV) approach and real options approach (ROA) with least squares Monte Carlo (LSMC).

This paper considers how the design of agricultural policies and programmes might be modified to better achieve policy objectives in the context of severe HIV epidemics and underscores the central role of agricultural policy in mitigating the spread and impacts of the epidemic. Based on projections of future demographic change in the hardest-hit countries of eastern and southern Africa HIV/AIDS is likely to have the following effects on the agricultural sector: (1) increased rural inequality caused by disproportionately severe effects of AIDS on relatively poor households; (2) a reduction in household assets and wealth leading to less capital-intensive cropping systems for severely affected communities and households; and (3) problems in transferring knowledge of crop husbandry and marketing to the succeeding generation of African farmers. It is argued that -- even though the absolute number of working age adults in the hardest-hit countries is projected to remain roughly the same over the next two decades -- the cost of labour in agriculture may rise in some areas as increasing scarcity of capital (notably animal draft power for land preparation and weeding) will increase the demand for labour in agricultural production or shift agricultural systems to less labour- and capital-intensive crops. (authors)

Domestic production of pepper (Capsicum spp.) is shrinking while demand within the US is growing. Lack of availability and cost of labor often present an obstacle for domestic producers both practically and economically. As a result, switching to harvesting peppers mechanically is anticipated as a key strategy to help domestic producers compete in the international market. Mechanical harvest efficiency can be improved through breeding. One important trait that mechanical harvest compatible material should have is an easy destemming trait: low force separation of the pedicel and calyx from the fruit. To detect the genetic sources underlying a novel easy destemming trait for the purpose of future breeding efforts in New Mexico pod-type green chile, we performed QTL analysis on three F2:F3 populations, coming from three New Mexico pod-type varieties: 'NuMex Odyssey,' 'NuMex Iliad,' and 'NuMex Joe E. Parker,' each crossed with a parent with an easy destemming trait: MUC14. Genotyping was done through genotyping by sequencing (GBS) and phenotyping was done for destemming and fruit trait measurements. Correlations between measurements were found through the R package hmisc and QTL analysis was done through R/qtl. A strong relationship was seen between destemming and aspects of fruit morphology, particularly, destemming force and fruit width (Pearson's correlation coefficient r=0.75). Major QTLs for destemming and fruit size were discovered. Of these, the largest destemming force QTLs for all populations (PVE=34.5-69.9%) were on chromosome 10, and in two populations QTLs for destemming force were found on chromosome 3 (Percent Variance Explained (PVE)=10.7-18.8%). Fruit size-related QTLs in all populations colocalized in these same areas on chromosomes 3 and 10. This suggests that fruit shape may be genetically linked to destemming, and breeders interested in selecting for easy destemming pepper will also have to pay attention to fruit size and shape.

New Mexico green pod-type chile ( Capsicum annuum ) has significant importance as a vegetable crop. The cultivation and trade of New Mexico pod-type green chile are culturally significant within New Mexico (USA) and contribute to the state’s economy by providing income and employment to farmers and through supporting industries. However, because of the high cost and limited availability of labor, New Mexico pod-type green chile acreage has declined. Traditionally, New Mexico pod-type green chile is hand-harvested when the fruit are full-size but physiologically immature. To preserve and expand the production of New Mexico pod-type green chile, the adoption of mechanical harvest technologies is essential. In 2015 and 2016, experiments were conducted at New Mexico State University’s Los Lunas Agricultural Science Center (Los Lunas, NM, USA) to examine the effects of increased planting density on New Mexico pod-type green chile fruit size, plant architecture, and mechanical harvest efficiency. Two commercial New Mexico pod-type green chile cultivars, NuMex Joe E. Parker and AZ-1904, were direct-seeded on 17 Apr 2015 and 14 Apr 2016. On 11 Jun 2015 and 14 Jun 2016, three plant density treatments were implemented at 39,000 (high), 23,000 (medium), and 15,000 (standard) plants/acre. Before harvest, plant measurements, including height, width, height to first bifurcation, stem diameter, and number of lateral basal branches, were obtained. Plots were mechanically harvested using an inclined double helix harvester, and harvested material was sorted into marketable green fruit, machine-broken fruit, and nonpod plant material. Fruit measurements, including fruit weight, width, length, pericarp thickness, and number of locules, were obtained. Both cultivars exhibited a 9% increase in height to bifurcation accompanied by fewer basal branches grown at high density. Plant density did not significantly affect the fruit length, width, number of locules, and pericarp thickness. Plants grown at high density had an increased percentage of marketable fruit, with ‘NuMex Joe E. Parker’ having a higher percentage of marketable green fruit compared to ‘AZ-1904’. The results demonstrated that an increase in planting density in production fields to 39,000 plants/acre coupled with cultivar selection enhanced efficiency in a mechanical harvest system.

In the recent years, increasing labour cost and shortage of labour being the major constraints to follow manual harvesting in cotton in staggered manner. Further, it is very expensive and farmers would like to increasingly opt for mechanical harvesting. In this context, it is suggested that research should focus to reduce cost of cultivation substantially by promoting the use of synchronized maturity in cotton and use of defoliants to encourage mechanical harvesting. In agriculture, defoliants are used to eliminate the leaves of a crop plant so that they do not interfere with the harvesting by machinery. Early harvesting with good boll opening can also be achieved by use of defoliants. The use of defoliants also reduces the trash content in picked cotton which will also help in improving the quality of cotton. There is a need to identify suitable defoliant with suitable dose and time of application so as to facilitate mechanical harvesting in rainfed cotton. Some of the successful defoliants for uniform boll bursting and higher yield of cotton such as rthrel, rthepon, mepiquat chloride (MC), sodium salt and DU (Dropp Ultra) are the hormonal defoliants and TDZ thidiazuron butifos, merphos, tribufos and tribufate are the herbicidal defoliants. The best combination of thidiazuron + diuron (DCMU), pyraflufen ethyl, thidiazuron + diuroncellular isozyme, Ethephon + AMADS, ethephon + cyclanilide ethephon + tribufos Mepiquat chloride (MC) + cyclanilide may be recommended to facilitate mechanical harvesting in cotton.