As a grower, it’s important to examine inputs closely in order to increase your bottom line whenever possible. One of the greatest challenges growers say they face is labor. Not only can it be difficult to secure a quality labor force, but it can be one of the biggest costs in running a successful business. That’s why many growers are looking to mechanize their operations as much as possible.

Jerry Alamwala, a blueberry grower in Lyndon, WA, has been harvesting blueberries on his farm mechanically for about 10 years. Alamwala’s machines of choice are Korvans from Oxbo. He explains there are some things growers can do to get the most bang for their buck when it comes to mechanically harvesting. “Everything of ours is planted up on a bit of a mound or a hill in order to get (the plants) up higher off the ground so you can pick earlier on smaller plants,” he says. “We also trellis everything with wires so that everything stays up. And we try to prune the base of the plant so it has a narrow base and the capture plates aren’t opening up as wide.”

Pros And Cons

While some growers hesitate to harvest blueberries for the fresh market mechanically because of concerns about fruit quality and loss, Alamwala says he doesn’t find it problematic, and the benefits of harvesting mechanically outweigh the disadvantages significantly. “When you go out in the field and you watch a machine pick, if you’re not used to it the first time, it looks like you’re dropping a lot on the ground,” he says. “But if you weigh the cost of picking by hand against what you’re losing, it’s way better to pick by machine, especially with the prices we’re getting right now.”

He also notes that with the right varieties, you can harvest blueberries mechanically without much bruising or damage at all. In the Pacific Northwest, Duke is a variety that works particularly well.

Out East, Dave Yarborough of the University of Maine says that about 80% of the wild blueberry crop is mechanically harvested now. From an efficiency standpoint, it just makes sense, he says. “Now some of the machines are fitted with lights, and they’re working 24 hours,” he adds. “And certainly fruit quality is a lot greater with the cooler evenings — the fruit firm up.”

He points out, too, that ensuring machines are properly maintained is paramount, as is having someone skilled operate the machines. Otherwise, “they could dig up the soil or rip up plants,” he says.

For growers concerned about the cost of mechanical harvesters, Yarborough puts it this way: “It’s like anything else. You pay now or you pay later.” While the initial investment for a large machine could be as much as $30,000, what a grower will make up for in labor costs makes it worthwhile. On top of that, fruit loss between hand and mechanical harvesting is equivalent, he says, as long as the equipment is maintained. “I think it’s a really good option,” Yarborough says. “It’s the future. And for a lot of smaller growers, it’s really been a salvation for them, because they haven’t been able to get the labor.”

Below are some available harvesters.
 

	Black Ice Harvester BEI International introduced Black Ice Harvester in 2009. Black Ice is an air picking mechanism designed to harvest higher quality fruit. For more information, go to www.beiintl.com.
	Korvan 8000 The Korvan 8000 is a single drop blueberry harvester that features an effective cleaning fan to deliver the highest quality blueberries. The Korvan 8000 gives you a choice in picking heads offering both the industry leading rotary-style Dynarotor and the unique Orbirotor picking systems. The free-floating picking heads eliminate rakings and damage but thoroughly remove ripe fruit. The 8000 is available with Korvan’s Ultra Low Loss catchers for ultimate fruit retention and gets low to the ground and low on the plant for minimal droppage. For more information, go to www.oxbocorp.com.
	Korvan 7420 The top load Korvan 7420 offers a 60-inch picking tunnel, the widest tunnel on the market, as well as both a knife edge cleaning fan at the first fruit transition and upper cleaning fans to thoroughly remove debris. The Korvan 7420 is also available with Korvan’s Ultra Low Loss catcher system. With 4,500 pounds of fruit capacity and a moveable rear deck, the Korvan 7420 gives efficient, effective picking, conveying, and unloading of fruit. The model 7420 achieves ultimate stability and minimal compaction with an efficient four-wheel drive hydrostatic transmission and is available with the choice of a rotary-style Dynarotor, an orbital style Orbirotor, or a Sway style picking systems, letting you customize it for your field conditions. For more information, go to www.oxbocorp.com.