Adopted in particular on the large expanses found in the United States, where agricultural labour is scarce, the mechanical harvesting systems of blueberries are suitable for both industrial and fresh market production. Some varieties are particularly suitable for mechanical harvesting (e.g. early Duke).
The plants are shaken by a jet of air; the ripe fruits fall on cushions that cushion the impact, minimizing the damage to the fruit (less than 2%), with a yield of harvested product cat. 1 between 85% and 95%.
Particular care is also taken to avoid damage to the plant.
The harvester packs the blueberries directly into small plastic boxes, which are manually handled by an operator. The product enters the boxes already cleaned of leaves and branches.
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