Abstract
Citrus trees are used as ornamental plants in several Spanish cities. They give a nice color to the streets and a nice scent in the flowering stage, but when the fruits fall, they dirty the roads and pavements, and can cause accidents; this is the reason why gardeners must detach and collect the fruits. This task is being done manually, but it is quite inefficient and expensive. In this study, three types of machines have been used to mechanize this task: a trunk shaker with umbrella, a trunk shaker hitched to an orchard tractor, and an experimental smaller sized shaker that can be attached to small and pedestrian tractors. The shaking patterns used by each equipment, detachment percentages, mobility constraints, and tree damage have been measured, and reduction costs have been estimated. After three years of study, the system has been fully accepted by both gardeners and citizens.
Highlights
Citrus are used as ornamental trees in several Mediterranean cities because they are well adapted to the ecological conditions, they permeate the atmosphere with a pleasant smell of orange blossom, and in winter, the orange fruits give a beautiful color to the parks and promenades
Mechanical detachment by vibration of citrus trees is a proven technique in agricultural citrus [2,3,4,5], used for both industry and fresh market, noting that detachment percentages of around 80% are normal with this technique
Four harvesting systems were tested: 1) manual; 2) trunk shaker with manual picking of fallen fruits; (3) trunk shaker with umbrella; and (4) experimental light shaker (SMTA) mounted on a fruits; 3) trunk shaker with umbrella; and 4) experimental light shaker (SMTA) mounted on a pedestrian tractor and with oil supply provided by the external sources of two tractors
Summary
Citrus are used as ornamental trees in several Mediterranean cities because they are well adapted to the ecological conditions, they permeate the atmosphere with a pleasant smell of orange blossom, and in winter, the orange fruits give a beautiful color to the parks and promenades. In the city of Valencia, there are over 15,000 trees from the specie Citrus × aurantium L. registered (based on personal communication from gardening technicians of Valencia town council), and this high number incurs significant economic cost because at the moment the accompanying tasks are performed manually. The most common techniques used are canopy shakers, that beat all the vegetation with poles, and with this method it is possible to detach the majority of the fruits. Trunk shakers seem to be the most adequate equipment, at present, to detach the fruits of these special trees
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