How does a mechanical picker actually find and
pick the grape clusters?

Don S

"Don S" > wrote in message
om...
> How does a mechanical picker actually find and
> pick the grape clusters?

It doesn't. It beats the vines with plastic canes, causing the ripe berries
to fall off the vines, catches them as they're falling and runs them via
conveyer belt into a big bin. It's a bit rough on the vines, and they have
to be trellised and spaced appropriately for the harvester. One advantage
is that it leaves behind the stems and underripe berries. Also, the
harvesting can be done in the cool of night.

Tom S

On Sun, 16 Nov 2003, Tom S wrote:

>
> "Don S" > wrote in message
> om...
> > How does a mechanical picker actually find and
> > pick the grape clusters?
>
> It doesn't. It beats the vines with plastic canes, causing the ripe berries
> to fall off the vines, catches them as they're falling and runs them via
> conveyer belt into a big bin. It's a bit rough on the vines, and they have
> to be trellised and spaced appropriately for the harvester. One advantage
> is that it leaves behind the stems and underripe berries. Also, the
> harvesting can be done in the cool of night.
>
> Tom S
I gotta see that! I'm guessing that a second harvest isn't
possible if a mech. picker has gone through. That machine must bash the
hell out of the berries too, right?
Warren Place

HiYall
Mechanical pickers , yes, but why pick at night ?
Reg




"Tom S" > wrote in message
. com...
>
> "Don S" > wrote in message
> om...
> > How does a mechanical picker actually find and
> > pick the grape clusters?
>
> It doesn't. It beats the vines with plastic canes, causing the ripe
berries
> to fall off the vines, catches them as they're falling and runs them via
> conveyer belt into a big bin. It's a bit rough on the vines, and they
have
> to be trellised and spaced appropriately for the harvester. One advantage
> is that it leaves behind the stems and underripe berries. Also, the
> harvesting can be done in the cool of night.
>
> Tom S
>
>

>
> It doesn't. It beats the vines with plastic canes, causing the ripe berries
> to fall off the vines, catches them as they're falling and runs them via
> conveyer belt into a big bin. It's a bit rough on the vines, and they have
> to be trellised and spaced appropriately for the harvester. One advantage
> is that it leaves behind the stems and underripe berries. Also, the
> harvesting can be done in the cool of night.

Wow, wasn't exactly what I had pictured...

Do they work well or is it just that they are cheaper and some
missed fruit can be tolerated? In which case, do they ever have
someone go through and quickly pick what was missed?

Don S

>HiYall
> Mechanical pickers , yes, but why pick at night ?
> Reg
>
>

Night is usually cooler than day. Cooler grapes translates to less
phenolic extraction during the crush/press process and cooler intial
temperature in the must.

clyde

> Wow, wasn't exactly what I had pictured...
>
> Do they work well or is it just that they are cheaper and some
> missed fruit can be tolerated?

As TomS eluded, with a proper trellis system they can be extremely
efficient.

> In which case, do they ever have
> someone go through and quickly pick what was missed?
>

Going back in to pick what's left is called gleaning. My first job in the
industry was working for a small winery in Monterey CA. They did virtually
all of their production from gleaned fruit. The older trellis systems would
cause some fruit to be left behind at the end of each row. Made for easy
picking because you'd just walk along the roadway, never far from the
gondola.

clyde

I've ridden on one of these harvesters and they are really quite good
at what they do. As for a 2nd harvest, it would be very difficult
within a given row since the machine can't choose which clusters to
shake off. However, some growers will harvest certain rows later than
others within a certain variety if they want to let some hang longer.
The berries don't get "bashed." In fact, they get to the winery
generally in very good shape. The vines get shook, but with some
unavoidable exceptions, the clusters don't get beaten with the
paddles. I was always a believer that hand picking was best for grape
quality but now that I've seen the results of mechanical harvesting,
I'm not sure that there is significant loss, especially if there is
someone picking out MOG as the berries fall into the bins and as the
grapes are being put into the crusher. Economically it's not even
close (though the machines are incredibly expensive). No labor
problems and the speed is a huge advantage.


Warren Place > wrote in message >...
> On Sun, 16 Nov 2003, Tom S wrote:
>
> >
> > "Don S" > wrote in message
> > om...
> > > How does a mechanical picker actually find and
> > > pick the grape clusters?
> >
> > It doesn't. It beats the vines with plastic canes, causing the ripe berries
> > to fall off the vines, catches them as they're falling and runs them via
> > conveyer belt into a big bin. It's a bit rough on the vines, and they have
> > to be trellised and spaced appropriately for the harvester. One advantage
> > is that it leaves behind the stems and underripe berries. Also, the
> > harvesting can be done in the cool of night.
> >
> > Tom S
> I gotta see that! I'm guessing that a second harvest isn't
> possible if a mech. picker has gone through. That machine must bash the
> hell out of the berries too, right?
> Warren Place