Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/146156
It's all around us — from the best varieties to the highest quality rootstocks. With almost 40 years of experience, at ProTree Nursery, LLC, we grow some of the heartiest trees you can buy. PHOTO by ricHrd leHnerT As one of the leading suppliers of apple and cherry trees to orchard growers, our customers have come to depend on our quality. You can too. For a price quote or to inquire about specific varieties, call ProTree Nursery, LLC today. This earlier prototype was photographed in August 2010, during an International Fruit Tree Association tour to Wafler Nursery. The new machine has a more finished look. Patent issues have limited picture availability. In trials, workers have picked 6 to 6.2 bins per day per worker, Wafler said. "This is the real deal," Wafler assured growers. "It is not a toy. We have used this for three years, and it is no longer in the research phase." It could come to the market within a year, he said. ® ® (USPP 16,624 P2) (USPP 10,115) (USPP 7526) ® ™ (USPP 7997) ™ (USPP applied for) (USPP 7197) ™ (USPP 19,007 McLaughlin cv) ™ ® (USPP 11,193) (USPP 11,992) ™ (USPP 10,016) Buckeye® (USPP 20,590) ® (USPP 10,840) ® ™ (USPP applied for) (USPP 12,900) Ultima (USPP 21,300) ™ ® (serial 74/458,730) ® (USPP 16,620) Capacity (USPP 11,367) (USPP 9681) Wafler figures that growers have 48 days a year in which to get their apple crop picked, and they have to make use of all those days. This machine can harvest 80 bins in a long day. He's looking to equip the machine with a double canopy for use during rain, so workers can pick under cover, and install radiant heaters for cold conditions. LED lights make night work feasible. "If need be, they can work in chest-high waders to keep warm and dry," he said. As is the case with other harvesters, one goal is to make picking work less fatiguing and less strenuous, something that can be done by ordinary people. "We hope to be able to entice more local workers," Wafler said. These apple varieties are available on B-10, B-118, EMLA-7, EMLA-26, EMLA-106, EMLA-111, G-11, G-16, G-30, M-9 337T, NIC®-29, or Supporter 4. ™ ™ ™ ™ ® ™ ® ™ ™ ™ ® Cost Robinson thinks the cost of the Cornell-Wafler machine will be about $30,000, much less than the $100,000 or so he estimates the DBR or Pluk-O-Trak will cost or the $60,000 it costs to buy Blosi or Orsi platforms from which workers pick tree tops only. "The cost of the machine with a 10-year depreciation would give an annual cost of 10 percent of its purchase price," Robinson said. He figures the Wafler-Cornell machine could harvest 77 acres per year, at a yield of 50 bins per acre, which pegs the machine cost per bin at 80 cents. That's figuring a per-year machine cost of $3,000 harvesting 3,850 bins per year. These are preliminary figures, Robinson said, and need to be determined more rigorously. He also believes the machine will improve worker efficiency by 40 percent, which is more than the improvement brought by the other systems. "The best canopies for harvesting with picking aid machines are narrow, thin canopies that allow all or most of the fruit to be picked from one side," Robinson said. "To improve efficiency, new orchards should be planted with many rows of the same variety and using crab apple pollinizers." While several concepts are being developed, Robinson said, "we expect that over the next five years many growers will begin to use one of the various harvest assist machines. Gains in labor efficiency will likely be in the 20 to 50 percent range." • www.goodfruit.com (USPP 13,753 P2) Zestar!™ ® Available on Colt, Gisela®, Krymsk®, Mahaleb, or Mazzard.* *Not all varieties are available on all rootstocks. Call for specific grafting information. 10500 Brentwood Blvd., Brentwood, CA 94513 800.634.1671 or 925.634.2191 (Alison Clegg or Richard Chavez) 877.457.6901 (Henry Sanguinetti) Fax 925.634.6040 www.protreenursery.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER AUGUST 2013 17