Mechanical Harvester for Fresh Market Onions

1970 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 0517-0519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne LePori and Price Hobgood
1994 ◽  
Vol 119 (6) ◽  
pp. 1114-1120 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.L. Peterson ◽  
S.S. Miller ◽  
J.D. Whitney

Three years of mechanical harvesting (shake and catch) trials with two freestanding apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) cultivars on a semidwarf rootstock (M.7a) and two training systems (central leader and open center) yielded 64% to 77% overall harvesting efficiency. Mechanically harvested `Bisbee Delicious' apples averaged 70% Extra Fancy and 10% Fancy grade, while two `Golden Delicious' strains (`Smoothee' and `Frazier Goldspur') averaged 40% Extra Fancy and 13% Fancy grade fruit. Mechanically harvesting fresh-market-quality apples from semidwarf freestanding trees was difficult and its potential limited. Cumulative yield of open-center trees was less than that of central-leader trees during the 3 years (sixth through eighth leaf) of our study. `Golden Delicious' trees generally produced higher yields than `Delicious' trees.


1996 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 823-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. Peterson ◽  
G. K. Brown

1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fumiomi Takeda ◽  
Donald L. Peterson

There is increased interest in growing blackberries in the United States for the fresh fruit market. For fresh market blackberry production, >350 h/acre (900 h·ha-1) of work is required to hand pick blackberries over a season that lasts 5 weeks with harvest every 2 days. Existing bramble mechanical harvesters can detach fruit from plants trained on a vertically oriented I trellis and harvest more cheaply than when harvested by hand, but the harvested fruit does not have fresh-market quality. We developed a cane training and trellis system for semierect blackberries to orient canes horizontally with the fruit positioned below the canes. Also, we developed an over-the-row mechanical harvester that uses vibrating nylon rods on a drum to shake fruit from horizontally trained canes onto a moving fruit-catching surface directly under the canopy to minimize impact damage to fruit. A new trellis design, new cane training practices, and new harvesting technologies have allowed fruit to be removed efficiently and be acceptable for fresh-market sales. This production system has been evaluated economically and appears to be profitable. It could overcome the high cost of handpicking, which has limited the expansion of fresh-market blackberries.


HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 480f-481
Author(s):  
C. Elizabeth Succop ◽  
Steven E. Newman

Fresh-market basil has become a viable greenhouse commodity in Colorado. Marketing pressures and profit advantages also encourage the production of certified organic produce. The research objectives were to determine the length of time basil plants were productive in the greenhouse and to compare the production of fresh-market basil grown with three root zone systems and two fertilizer treatments. The three systems were hydroponic rockwool slab culture, hydroponic perlite raised bed culture, and hydroponic peat/perlite/compost bag culture. The two types of hydroponic fertilizer treatments were a salt-based formulated nutrient solution and an organic solution consisting of fermented poultry compost, hydrolized fish emulsion, and soluble kelp. The plants were harvested once per week for fresh weight determination. The results from the two runs show greater productivity for the plants in the perlite system as well as the bag mix system when fertilized with the organic fertilizer compared to salt-based fertilizer. However, productivity of the plants in the rockwool system was greater with the salt-based treatment compared to the organic treatment.


1979 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 0270-0272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard W. Whitney ◽  
R. M. Ahring ◽  
C. M. Taliaferro
Keyword(s):  

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (No. 3) ◽  
pp. 85-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Blažek ◽  
V. Falta ◽  
R. Vávra ◽  
V. Beneš

: In the Czech Republic, there is still a predominance of obsolete apple orchards that were established more than 15 years ago and that are not profitable under contemporary conditions. Typical features of these orchards are low or medium tree densities, freely growing semi-standard trees or hedgerows on semi-dwarf, or sometimes also on vigorous, rootstocks. The farmers are not always in a position to completely renovate them, and therefore they are interested in their topworking. The present paper studied the effectiveness of this measure under the current economic and market conditions of this country, using 3 types of orchards with different spacings and rootstocks and 5 groups of tree densities. Four cultivars were chosen as examples of different starting statuses for the modelling of subsequent development in three time horizons and for the prediction of profitability of this treatment. The profitability is based on an increase in farmer prices for cultivars that are presently recommended for replacement of the older ones according to the recent development of these prices on the fresh market. In the case of topworking for Spartan cv., an economic return of the measure can be expected at the earliest after 8 years of running the treated orchard. The greatest increase in profit can be achieved in orchards on the rootstock M 9. Nevertheless, with the decline of tree numbers in the orchard, or with the increase in tree losses, the general economic effectiveness of topworking notably falls. In the case of trees on the rootstock MM 106, this measure can have an economic effect only if at least 80% of the trees is in a good health state and it is presumed that the orchard will be used for another 10 years at least. A list of recommended cultivars to be used for replacement of the old ones is given.


2010 ◽  
Vol 90 (5) ◽  
pp. 755-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. T. Tesfaendrias ◽  
M. R. McDonald ◽  
J. Warland

To identify carrot and onion cultivars that provide consistent marketable yields, we tracked the yields of five fresh market carrot [(Daucus carota L. subsp. sativus (Hoffm.) Arcang.] and six onion (Allium cepa L.) cultivars for at least 13 yr. Relationships between long-term weather variables and marketable yields were also investigated. The effects of cultivar, year and cultivar × year interactions on yield of carrots and onions were assessed. Cultivar and year had significant effects on carrot and onion yields, while the interaction was significant in only one of four data sets of carrot yield. Carrot cv. Cellobunch (95.4 t ha–1) and onion cv. Corona (74.1 t ha–1) had the highest mean marketable yields over the years studied. There was a slight positive correlation between mean yield of the assessed carrots and maximum temperatures in September (r = 0.44). Mean carrot yield was also somewhat negatively correlated with total rainfall in July (r = –0.43) and with number of days with rain in August (r = –0.43) and September (r = –0.44). Most onion cultivars showed stronger relationships between marketable yield and various weather patterns. Marketable yield of onions increased with an increase in the number of days with rainfall in June (r = 0.57). The mean marketable yield of the six onion cultivars decreased in relation to temperatures ≥30°C in June (r = –0.55) and August (r = –0.53). The mean yield of all the onions in the trials was negatively correlated (r = –0.78) with growing degree days (base 5°C, May to August). The results indicated that the data from long-term cultivar trials can be used to identify cultivars that yield well despite seasonal variations in weather. Key words: Daucus carota, Allium cepa, temperature, rainfall


2010 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 318-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kraig H. Kraft ◽  
José de Jesús Luna-Ruíz ◽  
Paul Gepts

2017 ◽  
Vol 218 ◽  
pp. 105-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haichao Guo ◽  
Francesco Di Gioia ◽  
Xin Zhao ◽  
Monica Ozores-Hampton ◽  
Marilyn E. Swisher ◽  
...  

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