EFFECT OF GROUND SPEED AND HEADER REVOLUTIONS ON THE PICKING EFFICIENCY OF A COMMERCIAL WILD BLUEBERRY HARVESTER

The wild blueberry industry is facing increased harvesting losses with the existing commercial harvester. These machines are no longer able to efficiently harvest the higher yields that result from improvements in plant growth and productivity. This study was designed to evaluate the performance efficiency of a commercial wild blueberry harvester for fruit losses during harvesting. Four wild blueberry fields were selected in the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick provinces of Canada. A 3 x 3 factorial experiment was constructed to examine the joint effect of ground speed and header revolution per minute (rpm) on picking efficiency of the harvester. Results indicated that the pre-harvest fruit losses were lower in early season compared to those harvested later. Unharvested berries on the plants and losses through the blower were significantly lower than losses on the ground. Significant relationship among the fruit yield and total losses suggested that losses during harvesting were proportional to fruit yield.