APPLE HARVEST AID FOR INCLINED TRELLISED CANOPIES

A mechanical harvest aid was developed to position two pickers to remo ve apples from a narrow inclined trellis. Design concept maximized the pickers' rime spent locating and detaching fruit, and minimized time spent handling fruit and controlling the unit. In medium to high yield s, picker productivity was increased by 36 to 44% over conventional ha nd harvesting. Fruit quality from the harvest aid was nearly as good a s that from conventional hand harvesting. Ground and tree losses were low far both harvesting techniques. All mechanical and electrical syst ems functioned reliably.