Mechanizing Olive Harvesting

摘要

TABLE olive growers spend more than half their gross returns per ton on the cost of hand harvest labor, which is driving many out of the business. However, the U.S. is still the single largest table olive market in the world, giving California growersa marketing advantage with the primary Manzanillo culti-var. With shortages in adequate harvest labor and challenges in meeting safe and fair employment standards, mechanizing harvest is crucial. Louise Ferguson, a plant sciences Extension specialist at the University of California-Davis, and a team of scientists, are working to develop mechanical harvest methods to improve the difficult task of harvesting table olives.