Articles
Continuous olive harvesting in a high-density olive orchard of the Portuguese ‘Galega vulgar’ cultivar
Article number
1446_45
Pages
353 – 362
Language
English
Abstract
In the last decade, there was a reduction in the area of traditional olive orchards in Portugal, and an increase in over 50,000 ha of hedge olive orchards established.
This shift from traditional to hedge olive cultivation is due to the fully mechanised olive harvesting that is now available.
Traditional Portuguese olive cultivars are not suited for the hedge system, and it is predicted that they will lose importance should the hedgerow system prove to be more economically profitable for the growers.
A new mechanical harvester prototype, the side row continuous canopy shaking harvester (SRCCSH), is being evaluated.
This study uses the SRCCSH to evaluate the mechanical harvest of a high-density irrigated olive orchard of the ‘Galega vulgar’ cultivar, planted with a 7×5 m array.
In a randomised complete block design with five replications, a comparison of the performance of the SRCCSH prototype to the harvesting with a mechanical shaker followed by manual collection was done.
This work shows the olive harvesting efficiency, the harvest work rates and estimates the associated costs of the two harvesting methods so that the most efficient solution could be identified.
This shift from traditional to hedge olive cultivation is due to the fully mechanised olive harvesting that is now available.
Traditional Portuguese olive cultivars are not suited for the hedge system, and it is predicted that they will lose importance should the hedgerow system prove to be more economically profitable for the growers.
A new mechanical harvester prototype, the side row continuous canopy shaking harvester (SRCCSH), is being evaluated.
This study uses the SRCCSH to evaluate the mechanical harvest of a high-density irrigated olive orchard of the ‘Galega vulgar’ cultivar, planted with a 7×5 m array.
In a randomised complete block design with five replications, a comparison of the performance of the SRCCSH prototype to the harvesting with a mechanical shaker followed by manual collection was done.
This work shows the olive harvesting efficiency, the harvest work rates and estimates the associated costs of the two harvesting methods so that the most efficient solution could be identified.
Publication
Authors
A.B. Dias, A. Pinheiro, J.O. Peça, J. Falcão, J. Rebola, A.S. Albardeiro
Keywords
field work capacity, production costs, olive yield
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