Mechanical harvesting in conventional and high density olive groves : literature review

Abstract

Harvesting represents the final stage in the production of an olive crop, but if done at the wrong time or in an erroneous way it can noticeably affect the net return to the farmer and the olive oil quality. Effectiveness of harvest extraction and gathering is the more significant factor in fostering mechanical harvesting for olives predetermined for olive oil. The output of the conventional olive groves (100 to 200 trees per hectare) is comparatively low and the total crop expenses are very high and mainly (>85%) coming from manual harvesting. In the beginning of the 1990's, a novel production system of olive groves the super-high density (SHD hedgerow) which makes easier the use of mechanical straddle type harvesters and the attainment of higher harvesting efficiency of olives. This thesis provides an extensive review of the new technologies used in olive harvesting, with emphasis on the linear systems of high and super- high olive tree densities (>500 trees/ha up to 2200). The future of these systems is also reviewed for Greece and other olive oil producing countries.