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The 2010 ASHS Annual Conference

4585:
Mechanical Harvesting of California Table Olives

Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Springs F & G
Louise Ferguson, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA
Uriel A. Rosa, Dr., Dept. of Biological and Agrcultural Engineering, Univ. of California, Davis, Davis, CA
Sergio Castro-Garcia, PhD, Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain
Soh Min Lee, Univ of California, Davis, CA
Jaxvier X. Guinard, Univ of California, Davis, CA
William H. Krueger, MS, UC Cooperative Extension, University of California Cooperative Extension, Orland, CA
Jacqueline K. Burns, Univ of Florida, Lake Alfred, FL
Maria Paz Suarez Garcia, PhD, Department of Agroforestry, UIETA University of Seville, Seville, Spain
Neil O'Connell, Tulare County Cooperative Extension, Reedley, CA
Kitren Glozer, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA
Elizabeth Fichtner, University of California, Tulare, CA
Mechanical harvesting must be developed for economically feasible table olive production in Calfornia.  Olive receiving station grades and values, and trained sensory and consumer panel investigations, have conclusively demonstrated that canopy contact head and trunk shaking harvesters can produce commercially marketable processed table olives.  However, thus far these picking technologies have not achieved the necessary eighty percent final harvest efficiency needed for economically feasible production.  Attempts to increase the current 64 - 69 percent efficiency are focused on developing mechanical pruning for the 96 tree per acre traditional orchards and developing new 202 tree per acre hedgeroz orchards.  Results thus far demonstrate 10  year old hedgerow orchards yield as well as tradtional orchards.