Abstract

Sensors, communication systems and geo-reference units are required to achieve an optimized management of agricultural inputs with respect to the economic and environmental aspects of olive groves. In this study, three commercial olive harvesters were tracked during two harvesting seasons in Spain and Chile using remote and autonomous equipment that was developed to determine their time efficiency and effective based on canopy shaking for fruit detachment. These harvesters work in intensive/high-density (HD) and super-high-density (SHD) olive orchards. A GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) and GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) device was installed to track these harvesters. The GNSS receiver did not affect the driver’s work schedule. Time elements methodology was adapted to the remote data acquisition system. The effective field capacity and field efficiency were investigated. In addition, the field shape, row length, angle between headland alley and row, and row alley width were measured to determinate the optimum orchard design parameters value. The SHD olive harvester showed significant lower effective field capacity values when alley width was less than 4 m. In addition, a yield monitor was developed and installed on a traditional olive harvester to obtain a yield map from the harvested area. The hedge straddle harvester stood out for its highly effective field capacity; nevertheless, a higher field efficiency was provided by a non-integral lateral canopy shaker. All of the measured orchard parameters have influenced machinery yields, whether effective field capacity or field efficiency. A saving of 40% in effective field capacity was achieved with a reduction from 4 m or higher to 3.5 m in alley width for SHD olive harvester. A yield map was plotted using data that were acquired by a yield monitor, reflecting the yield gradient in spite of the larger differences between tree yields.

Highlights

  • Olives are the main woody crop in Spain

  • Of the 781 h that were recorded for the hedge straddle harvester, 720 h that corresponded to the season 2011–2012 with a high temporal resolution (4 s) were used to validate the new methodology

  • No significant differences were found between the methodologies

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Summary

Introduction

Olives are the main woody crop in Spain. Olive orchards cover 2.58 Mha, of which 96% is dedicated to oil olive production [1]. Most of the olive orchard area (~76%) is currently planted according to the traditional model: two, three or four trunks per tree and wide spacing between trees. 24% of the area presents a major challenge to mechanized operations due to steep slopes. 56% of the area is considered to be suitable for mechanization under traditional orchards [2]. Cropping olives for oil has traditionally been performed in the Mediterranean basin. In the last decade, this practice has spread to other countries, such as Chile, where the area for this crop increased from 5000 ha in 2003 to 18,000 ha in 2013 [3]

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