Blog

The issue of the profitability of producing industrial apples has been widely talked over among fruit growers for several years. The matter of price, fruit quality, harvesting method, and sales options are discussed.

For several years we can see an increase in interest in industrial apple production, in specially growing orchards. Suitable types of fruits are produced there, and they are picked mechanically. Above all, the deficiency of people to work and the low purchase price of apples makes manual harvest unprofitable.

Apples picking with a harvester

There are many models of new and used fruit picking machines available on the market. However, most of them are for picking fruits laying under the trees. Nevertheless, growers who have industrial orchards are looking for machines harvesting fruits from trees. In this case, two harvesters we have mainly for cherries and plums are also perfect for harvesting apples. They are FELIX Z and MAJA AUTOMATIC. 

One-row apple harvester

Apple harvester  FELIX Z is one-row, trailed harvester, working with a tractor with power 80HP.  It is designed to work in orchards grown in dense rows. Trees are formed there properly and are suitable for mechanical harvest. The technology of collecting apples with FELIX Z is based on a vertical shakers harvesting system. The harvester is pulled behind the tractor. It drives into the middle of apple row. Trees get into the shaking zone. Apples fall on conveyors below the shaking unit and are being thoroughly cleaned off impurities. Effective sealing system eliminates fruit losses. Apples are harvested into boxes on the working platforms. Depending on the harvester type, the boxes can be unloaded with a forklift, by the use of hydraulic lift or rollers. WEREMCZUK Agromachines offers also self-propelled harvester FELIX.

Industrial apples shakers

The idea of apple harvesting process with  MAJA AUTOMATIC LK is to shake the fruits off to a screen stretched out under the tree, by the use of a shaker mounted on the shaking arm. A tractor operator turns on a function of automatic screen unfolding when the harvester is in an optimal position relative to the tree. The screen is mounted on special arched arms. An operator of shaker catches the tree trunk with a gripping paw and starts the shaking process. Fruits fall dawn on the screen.  After folding the screen, the fruits are falling on the conveyor and are being transported through the cleaning unit. Clean fruits are harvested into big boxes (or other containers) placed on the working platform. Boxes are unloaded with a hydraulic lift. 

The machine allows for efficient fruit harvesting. The harvesting process from one tree takes from 0.5 to 1 min. Only 2 people are sufficient to operate the machine when fruit are harvested into big containers: tractor and shaker operators. It allows significantly to reduce staff costs.

Fruit harvest with the MAJA Automatic LK  is accurate. Adjustment of the shaking parameters and the shaking power, allows you to harvest fruit from different types of trees, at various stages of fruit ripeness. The screen is equipped with additional side sealing flanges. It eliminates the risk of spilling fruit at the extreme positions of the screen and during its rolling.