New citrus harvest system saves labour

This new system had the advantages of both saving time and labour. It also appeared that spoilage, with regard to Valencias at least, had shown a slight decline. A labour-saving system of harvesting citrus, in which fruit is plucked rather than clipped from trees, is giving encouraging results in a countrywide research project.

Although a final decision on whether the new method can be adopted by growers of all types of citrus has yet to be taken, there is now the distinct possibility that it will get the green light.

The Citrus Exchange is to evaluate the results of tests in which snap-picking, as the system has been dubbed, are to be reviewed. Preliminary findings have, however, given rise to the hope that savings of as much as 33% will be possible in harvesting costs because of the speed of the system. Experiments conducted so far have indicated that between 25% and 33% less labour is needed when snap-picking is employed. Another advantage lies in the fact that the farmer need not buy or replace the special clippers that have been necessary so far.

Farmers in whose orchards the snappicking procedure has been trial-tested are enthusiastic about the results. According to many farmers who have taken part in the trials, the 33% labour-saving figure is conservative; with experienced pickers it could be as high as 50%.