Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/196125
J.J. Dagorret, maker of the Bandit Xpress, checks on a platform in use at an orchard in Othello, Washington. Two pickers work on each side of the platform while another two pickers work on the ground in front, picking apples from the lower six feet of the canopy and emptying them into a bin on the ground. The two workers on the front end of the platform pick fruit from the middle of the canopy, and the two at the rear pick from the tops of the trees. As the machine travels down the row, it picks up bins from the orchard floor, raises them on a scissor lift to the platform, where the workers can empty their picking bags. When the bin is full, it is lowered to the orchard floor behind the machine. The self-propelled, autosteer platform operates on a 24-horsepower Honda gas engine—the type used on zero-turn lawn mowers—and consumes about four gallons of gasoline per day. It has a 13-gallon capacity gas tank, which is set discreetly into the frame of the platform, as is the hydraulic system that powers the pruners and string thinner that Dagorret has developed. The platform has lights so it can be used at night. It has three wheels—two at the back and one at the front left. Seventy-five percent of the plat—J.J. Dagorret form's weight is born by the back axle. If the platform had four wheels, it would need an oscillating axle at the front to link the two wheels, Dagorret explains, and that would interfere with the part of the machine that picks up the bins. It has a crawl speed of up to 2.5 miles per hour and a top ground speed of 6 m.p.h. Because the front of the machine is much lighter than the back, the platform can easily be towed from one orchard to another. The back wheels have unlocking hubs and the front of the platform can be hitched to a pickup truck for towing to its next destination at highway speed. Dagorret said he always has a machine on standby. Should a machine break down in an orchard, instead of sending out a mechanic to fix it, he can hitch the spare machine to his pickup and drop it off so picking can resume without delay. The broken-down machine would be towed back to the shop for repair. This minimizes down time and lost revenue both for the orchard owner and the pickers. "The key was keeping it very simple, so if there's an issue, it can be fixed quickly and inexpensively." Pickers on the platform pick fruit into buckets and empty them into a bin that is raised to the platform level and lowered back onto the orchard floor when full. www.goodfruit.com PHOTOS BY GERALDINE WARNER Fair shot Washington Fruit and Produce Company has a Bandit Xpress at a 300-acre orchard on a V-trellis system near Othello, Washington. Dan Plath, the company's orchard manager, said the six people working with the platform are just a small fraction of the total harvest workforce, so it's important to place the machines where the orchard supervisors are really interested in them, take ownership, and give them a fair shot. Washington Fruit has been using other platforms for tree training, pruning, and thinning. Platforms can greatly improve pruning efficiency because pruning can be done over a long season with a small crew, Plath said. "Some seasons we can prune one orchard with one machine. We keep it going from the first of November to the first of April. "If we can gain harvest efficiency by using this one for picking, too, we'll probably do more of this," he added. "Because it's new to us for picking, I don't think we've maximized efficiency of picking yet." • Good Fruit Grower NOVEMBER 2013 25