An innovative and simple system to facilitate the picking of small fruits is being proposed by RK Growers. It can be used for cherries and raspberries as well.
The system is simple but, like the Egg of Columbus, some had to think about it. As the video above shows, the operator wears a special belt with hooks (certified system). In front there is a basket in which the collected fruits will be placed, while on the back it is possible to stack several baskets, as a "stock". Each basket contains approximately 1.8 kg.
"The hands are always free - says Carlo Lingua of RKG - and this allows to collect with more ease, better quality and to save more time. You can physically prepare to reach the most distant fruit with greater ease or remain standing. On the side there are further hooks to hang smaller baskets to collect the waste fruit, thus avoiding them remaining on the ground favoring the spread of Drosophila".
Once the basket has been filled, the worker can hang it between the rows in the greenhouse, to previously arranged chains, so as to avoid downtime and continue collecting. Then another worker can pick up all the baskets with a small vehicle, similar to a wheelbarrow, hooking them to additional supports.
The contents of the baskets, like the blueberries in the video, can be placed directly in the trays ready for shipping and sale.
Contacts:
Carlo Lingua
Tel.: +39 3487822078
Claudio Capitini
Tel.: +39 3481335301
Email: info@rkg.it