Welcome to The Machine

摘要

FOR years now, the apple industry has been in search of a practical and feasible mechanical harvesting system. Thanks to the efforts of a trio of innovators in Michigan, this vision may soon become a reality — and perhaps in a more convenient way than originally thought possible. For the past year, fruit growers Mike Rasch and Chuck Dietrich, along with Phil Brown of Phil Brown Welding in Conklin, MI, have been tinkering with and modifying the design of an apple harvesting prototype they came up with. The latest version of this unit was unveiled during the International Fruit Tree Association's annual conference in the Grand Rapids area in early March, and it certainly caught the eye of those in attendance. "Everything looks very encouraging at this point," says Rasch. "We're at the point where we have a good design that we can run with."