May 2021 - 15

The team is also collaborating
with researchers from Montana
State University to address
the socioeconomic aspects of
deploying these machines.
Shake-and-catch
Shake-and-catch systems are
self-explanatory - the system
mechanically shakes a tree
while catching the fruit or
nuts to collect them in bins.
Though these systems have
been around for years and are
used for crops like nuts and
processing apples, they still
can't harvest fresh-market soft
fruits like peaches, apples and
pears, which are damaged by
the fall and therefore have to be
picked by hand. Vougioukas'
team looks to finally solve
this decades-old problem by
designing a system that catches
these fruits sooner and gives
them a softer landing.
" If you are shaking a tree
and you have fruit at 12 feet,
the fruit has maybe traveled
10 feet to a catching surface
near the ground, and the
probability that it will have hit
something is very large, " he
said. " But, if you could insert
soft catching surfaces every
two feet, then fruits would
only fall for two feet, and we
could significantly reduce
damage from collisions. "
Since fruit can grow at
several different heights in
a tree, they are designing a
machine that can quickly
deploy landing surfaces
throughout a canopy that
can gently catch the fruit and
help transport it into a bin.
They also plan to make it
collapsible for easy mobility
between trees and so it can fit
in commercial orchards.
To do this, he is working
with UC Davis plant sciences
professor Brian Bailey to
build a computer model
that simulates both the
mechanics of a tree and how
the machine interacts with it.
These simulations will help
them optimize the design and
materials and minimize trial
and error before field tests.
He is also working with plant
sciences professor Elizabeth
Mitcham, a postharvest expert
who will examine how the
quality of machine-harvested
fruits compares with those
harvested by hand. He also
works closely with his lab's
development engineer,
Dennis Sadowski, who is very
experienced in machine design
and fabrication.
The goal is to develop a
machine that's comparable to
the quality of hand-harvesting
while being fast and efficient
enough to meet the needs for
timely harvesting. FGN
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* Reduce damage
How to use it:
* Simply tank mix with each
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Longevity:
* 14-21 days following application.
- Alan Knight, Ph.D.,
Instar Biologicals, Yakima, WA
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FGN | MAY 2021 | 15

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May 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2021