2013 ASHS Annual Conference

July 21 - 27, 2013

The objective of this colloquium is to delineate through successful examples the simultaneous steps of a mechanical harvesting development program from the harvesting technology through the extension program for adoption, including composition of the research team. The steps of developing a mechanical harvesting program will be presented as the short-, medium- and long-term goals and highlight the critical limiting factors of each. The short-tem goal is identifying a fruit/vegetable/flower removal principal and demonstrating that it can meet the first limiting factor of producing a marketable product. The second limiting factor is demonstrating that this does not harm the plant (if perennial) physically or exacerbate disease, insect pests, or physiological problems. The third limiting factor is developing the mobile platform with a competent catch frame, a process that requires cooperation with the commercial harvester industry. The medium-term goal is orchard management to increase the final efficiency of the harvesting machines developed; this includes orchard establishment, tree training and pruning, developing chemical compounds that induce abscission, and pre- and postharvest treatments. The first limiting factor is decreased yield or quality resulting from the new orchard or planting systems and abscission chemicals. The second limiting factor is developing the harvester operating parameters, tons per hour, cost per ton, and the economic analysis that demonstrates mechanical harvesting is logistically and economically feasible. The long-term goal is breeding cultivars more suitable to mechanical harvesting with both traditional and molecular methods. The limiting factor is defining the goal precisely; for example, a compressed maturity period to increase harvester efficiency through having all the fruits/flowers/vegetable ripen simultaneously. Finally, development of a successful mechanical harvesting system is more than producing the technology and adapting the orchards. An extension education program, ideally conducted in parallel with the mechanical harvesting development project, for both the horticultural crop producers, and their current labor pool, is a prerequisite for successful adoption of mechanical harvesting.