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Orchard ladders in old farmstead apple orchard
Fruit picking or fruit
harvesting is a seasonal activity (paid or recreational) that occurs
during harvest time in areas
with fruit growing wild or being
farmed in orchards.
Types of
fruit
Apple
Picking
Apple picking is an activity found at apple farms. Apple orchards may be opened to the
public, allowing consumers to pick their own apples or purchase
pre-picked apples.[1][2]
Although this is ultimately a method of purchasing apples, it is
often a social activity as well. Apple picking is often a very
popular dating ritual in the
American Midwest. Apple orchards catering
to a family outing will provide additional activities beyond the
picking of apples. Many have petting zoos, restaurants and country shops that sell
related products such as home-made jams and jellies. This aspect of
the activity is especially popular in the Northeastern United States
and Southern
Ontario in Canada.
Workers
Most of the fruit picking is done by migrant workers. Migrant workers are
frequently used as they can be paid relatively low
wages and usually do the job quite well. In California, Mexican
migrants are most frequently doing the work.[3]
Automation
As labor costs are still quite expensive in fruit picking, robots are being designed that can
replace humans for
this kind of work. [4] The
research is still in full progress, especially as the robots need
to be carefully designed so that they do not bruise the fruit while
picking.[5] One
solution is the use of suction grippers, used on automated fruit
picking machines manufactured, for example, by ACRO.[6] Citrus
fruit robot pickers have thusfar been the focus of research and
development, but cherry pickers are also being researched.[7] Vision
Robotics, in particular, has made several robots that are already
capable of taking over the work.
References
See also
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