Status of citrus harvesting in Florida

Abstract

Florida citrus production peaked at 11·2 Mt prior to several damaging freezes of the early 1980s. Currently, production is seven Mt, slowly increasing, and approximately 83% is utilized for processing purposes. The picking of citrus is still a manual task and currently requires 20 000 labourers. The labour supply appears adequate with a reasonably good profit margin above harvesting costs. Although 30 years of research and development have not yielded a feasible alternative to manual picking, considerable technology has been developed to evaluate the merits of various approaches. Picking aids have increased picker productivity, but their economic justification under Florida labour conditions continues to be questionable. Mass removal mechanical systems could only compete on a small scale to traditional citrus harvesting methods. The freezes of the early 1980s eliminated many of the old, larger producing trees in the north central area of the state. New plantings are being spaced closer together to achieve high yields in hedgerows at an early age. Hand harvesters generally dislike hedgerows because across-row movement with ladders and containers is more difficult. Also, mechanical placement and retrieval of fruit containers in the rows are difficult. The application of robotic principles favours hedgerows because positioning of a robotic arm would be much simpler than with individual trees. A robotic arm under development in Florida has demonstrated a picking rate of one fruit every five seconds from the outer canopy. Research is underway to develop smaller and more productive hedgerow trees which would be easier to harvest by hand or machine.