Mechanical Harvesting of Berry Crops

Dale, Adam; Hanson, Eric J.; Yarborough, David E.; McNicol, R.J.; Stang, Elden J.; Brennan, Rex; Morris, J. R.; Hergert, G. B.

doi:10.1002/9780470650561.ch8

Cited by 21 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 102 publications

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“…A major concern with mechanical harvest has been fruit bruising, which occurs as a result of direct contact between the berries and the harvester's beater rods, when detached berries drop from the bush into the harvester's catch pans, during passage of the berries from the catch pans to the conveyor belt, and when the berries drop from the conveyor belt into the fruit lugs (7). Bruising increases with longer falling distance on harder surfaces of the harvester (2) and reduces both external and internal fruit quality (11,31,36). Internal damage to the fruit results in cellular water leakage and development of water-soaked areas in the flesh (21).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postharvest Disease Development on Southern Highbush Blueberry Fruit in Relation to Berry Flesh Type and Harvest Method

et al. 2013

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Mehra, L. K., MacLean, D. D., Savelle, A. T., and Scherm, H. 2013. Postharvest disease development on southern highbush blueberry fruit in relation to berry flesh type and harvest method. Plant Dis. 97:213-221.Postharvest decay, incited by various fungal pathogens, is a major concern in most blueberry production areas of the United States. Because the risk of infection is increased by fruit bruising, which in turn is increased by machine-harvesting, it has been difficult to harvest fruit from the early-maturing but soft-textured southern highbush blueberries (SHB) mechanically for the fresh market. This could change fundamentally with the recent development of SHB genotypes with crisp-textured ("crispy") berries, i.e., fruit with qualitatively firmer flesh and/or more resistant skin. Four replicate row sections of two or three SHB genotypes having crispy fruit and three with conventional fruit were either hand-or machine-harvested at a commercial blueberry farm in northern Florida in April 2009 and May 2010. Harvested fruit were sorted, packed, and placed in cold storage (2°C) for up to 3 weeks. Average counts of aerobic bacteria, total yeasts and molds, coliforms, and Escherichia coli on fruit samples before the cold storage period were below commercial tolerance levels in most cases. In both years, natural disease incidence after cold storage was lowest for hand-harvested crispy fruit and highest for machine-harvested conventional fruit. Interestingly, machine-harvested crispy fruit had the same or lower disease incidence as hand-harvested conventional fruit. Across all treatments, natural postharvest disease incidence was inversely related to fruit firmness, with firmness values >220 g/mm associated with low disease. In separate experiments, samples from the 0-day cold storage period were inoculated at the stem end with Altemaria alternata, Botrytis cinérea, or Colletotrichum acutatum, and disease incidence was assessed after 7 days in a cold room followed by 60 to 72 h at room temperature. In response to artificial inoculation, less disease developed on crispy berries. No significant effect of harvest method was observed, except for A. alternata inoculation in 2009, when hand-harvested fruit developed a lower level of disease than machine-harvested fruit. Taken together, this study suggests that mechanical harvesting of SHB cultivars with crisp-textured berries is feasible from a postharvest pathology perspective.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postharvest Disease Development on Southern Highbush Blueberry Fruit in Relation to Berry Flesh Type and Harvest Method

et al. 2013

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“…Blackcurrants in commercial production are almost all harvested mechanically, since the berries ripen simultaneously and the main outlet is for processing (Dale et al 1994). Harvesters are expensive, however, requiring a fairly large cropping area to justify the cost.…”

Section: Mechanical Harvestingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Currants and Gooseberries

Brennan¹

Temperate Fruit Crop Breeding

103

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The cultivation of Ribes fruits (black-and redcurrants and gooseberries) is aimed at both fresh and processing markets, with the blackcurrant R. nigrum particularly important in the latter. Breeding is increasingly focused on national and regional requirements, and for blackcurrant the specific quality requirements of the processing industry are key objectives in many programmes, alongside agronomic traits such as yield and pest resistance. Durable resistance to foliar pathogens and damaging pests such as gall mite remains a high priority, partly due to increasing interest in integrated crop management systems. Many Ribes species, especially the darker-fruited blackcurrant types, contain high concentrations of polyphenolic compounds, notably anthocyanins and flavonols, and these components are of growing importance due to their link to human health, together with high levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). The development of marker-assisted breeding strategies in Ribes is in progress, to improve breeding efficiency and time to cultivar, and QTLs affecting several important phenological, agronomic and fruit quality traits have been located on the recently-developed linkage map for blackcurrant. Additionally, markers linked to key traits such as gall mite resistance are under development.

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“…There are several reviews that discuss in detail plant characteristics of value in breeding for adaptability to mechanical harvest (Dale et al 1994 ;Hall et al 2002Hall et al , 2009 ) . Nevertheless, there remains much to be learned about the means of detachment of berries from the receptacle, different mechanisms controlling detachment and mechanisms controlling release of fruit from the plant by different forms of shaking.…”

Section: Current Goals and Challenges Of Breedingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Raspberry

Kempler

Hall²,

Finn

2011

Fruit Breeding

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The red raspberry, Rubus idaeus L., is a valuable crop that has recently increased in production, generating a large interest in commercial ventures and in research. Traditionally, most of the crop has been sold to processors for freezing, jam production, canning, juice and fl avorings for ice cream, yogurt, and other products, but in recent years fresh market production has increased and become a very important sector of this industry. There has been an increased interest in black, purple, and Arctic raspberries because of their high nutraceutical value. R. idaeus, a diploid (2 n = 14), is included in the Idaeobatus and is the most important commercial species in this subgenus. The fl owers are hermaphroditic; however, in some cases, they are unisexual, especially among wild species. Domestication of raspberries is comparably recent as it occurred less than 500 years ago. Red raspberries are widely distributed in all temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and North America with the greatest diversity in China. Enriching the cultivated gene pool by incorporating the unique genetics from wild germplasm to meet the challenges that lie ahead is desired. Breeding goals are the improvement of fruit quality which includes selection for better preharvest hanging ability and postharvest shelf life and processed quality. Resistance to heat and cold and resistance to pests and disease are also important, as well as large fruit size, good presentation, and ease of harvest. Fruit color of the newer cultivars varies from very dark red to a light orange-red and there has become a tradition of cultivar selection (eds.), Fruit Breeding, Handbook of Plant Breeding 8, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-0763-9_8, © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 264 C. Kempler et al.specifi cally for processing or for fresh market. There are now approximately 50 active raspberry breeding programs in 26 countries, mostly in Europe and North America. Use of molecular markers for genetic studies and mapping is referenced; however, in this crop, it is at an early stage with only a few genes mapped.

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Mechanical Harvesting of Berry Crops

Cited by 21 publications

References 102 publications

Postharvest Disease Development on Southern Highbush Blueberry Fruit in Relation to Berry Flesh Type and Harvest Method

Postharvest Disease Development on Southern Highbush Blueberry Fruit in Relation to Berry Flesh Type and Harvest Method

Currants and Gooseberries

Raspberry

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