New Tool to Track Your Fruit Harvesting Performance

How long does it take to fill a harvest bin? A new feature on the Pluk-O-Trak from Munckhof Fruit Tech Innovators called M-Connect allows fruit growers to automatically record the time required to fill each bin during harvest. Using the RFID or barcode scanner on the Pluk-O-Trak, every bin change is accurately recorded.

M-Connect is a system that automatically collects operational data from Munckhof machines and makes it available in orchard management software.

Through the Pluk-O-Trak and M-Connect, growers can collect data at individual tree or orchard block level, including yield, fruit count, fruit size, color, and working hours. The latest addition is automatic bin change registration. Using a barcode or RFID scanner, the Pluk-O-Trak records when an empty bin is loaded and when the full bin is replaced. The time between these two events shows how long it took to fill the bin, providing growers with a measurable indicator of harvesting performance.

The time required to fill a single bin reveals relatively little. The real value comes from recording hundreds or thousands of bin changes throughout the harvest season. This allows growers to calculate reliable averages by variety, orchard block, hectare, day or harvest period. How long does it take, on average, to fill a bin with pears or apples? Can the same variety be harvested more quickly in one orchard block than another? And how does harvesting performance change throughout the season? Harvest data can also help identify picking crews that may benefit from additional guidance or support. Comparing results over several seasons gives growers an increasingly accurate picture of harvesting efficiency across their operations.

For more information, visit munckhof.org.