A Systems Approach to Chile Harvest Mechanization

Abstract

There is approximately a half century of published research on harvest mechanization of cultivars of Capsicum annuum var. annuum L. This review focuses primarily on research pertaining to chile for canning and fresh markets. Most of the crop is still harvested by hand, displacing production to locations where labor costs are low. Mechanizing chile harvest will require a systems approach, integrating research in plant breeding, production practices, and harvester and processing plant machinery design. Cultivars need to be selected for high determinant fruit set, low attachment force, and increased fruit wall toughness. Production practices need to be modified to cause the development of tall, well-rooted plants with minimal branching. Harvest machinery needs to be developed that is both aggressive enough to remove almost all fruit and gentle enough to minimize damage. Processing plant equipment needs to be developed to handle fruit that may have more foreign matter, some stems still attached, and will arrive in large batches. A fully mechanized harvest will not be possible until each part of the system is in place.

Mechanizing Chile Peppers: Challenges and Advances in Transitioning Harvest of New Mexico’s Signature Crop

“…Mechanical harvest of green chile has proven to be particularly challenging. The key obstacles are unacceptability of damaged fruit (Funk et al, 2011) and the need for a mechanical means of stem removal from the fruit (Herbon et al, 2009). Collaborative research between NMSU and the USDA-ARS Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory identified an inclined double helix picking head manufactured by Yung-Etgar (Bet-Lehem-Hglilit, Israel) as being most the most gentle fruit harvest mechanism (Fig.…”

Advanced lines of Jalapeño pepper with potential for mechanical harvesting

“…Height of the first fruit in relation to the soil level was evaluated only in Experiment II, presenting mean values in the range of 7.5-11.0cm (Table 1). For mechanical harvest, selection is recommended in plants whose first set of fruits has both 10-cm minimum height relative to soil level and fruits dispersed throughout canopy (FUNK et al, 2011). Table 1 shows that the mean values observed in CNPH 30,159 (9.5 cm) and CNPH 30,245 (10.7cm) are equal or very close to the minimum value recommended in the literature.…”

“…In Experiment II, all lines were evaluated and grouped with 'BRS Sarakura' (Table 1). According to FUNK et al (2011), selection of the earliest plants with a uniform and concentrated fruit maturation should be sought for the mechanical harvest to be successful. Based on the variability available in Experiment I, it was possible to select the earliest lines to continue the program.…”

“…Recently, the USA has experienced a similar situation and mechanization of the harvest has been the alternative found to keep the productive chain of peppers viable. The cost of manual harvesting has reached 50% of the total cost of pepper production, whereas mechanization was reduced to less than 10% (FUNK et al, 2011). Thus, development of cultivars more adapted to mechanical harvesting became a routine activity in breeding programs, Gomes et al especially at the New Mexico State University (NMSU).…”

“…In the USA, Jalapeño fruit harvest has been almost entirely mechanical, and mechanical harvest of pepper for paprika has reached 80% of the area where it is cultivated (FUNK & WALKER, 2009;FUNK & WALKER, 2010), allowing these producers to maintain their competitiveness (UCHANSKI & BLALOCK, 2013). In this context, some characteristics should be considered in the process of pepper plant selection for mechanical harvest, such as: higher plant and first bifurcation heights, larger stem diameter, erect growth habit, absence or few lateral shoots, well-developed root system, fruits easy to detach and with thick wall, narrow angle between branches, and fruit concentration in the upper third of the plant (WALL et al, 2003;FUNK et al, 2011). At the same time, the processing industry requires mature fruits, with color and firmness specific characteristics, capsaicinoid content, soluble solids content, and total titratable acidity, which should be considered in the breeding program.…”