Harvest of southern highbush blueberry with a modified, over-the-row mechanical harvester: use of soft-catch surfaces to minimize impact bruising

Authors: SARGENT, STEVEN - University Of Florida; Takeda, Fumiomi; WILLIAMSON, JEFFREY - University Of Florida; BERRY, ADRIAN - University Of Florida

Submitted to: Agronomy
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/10/2021
Publication Date: 7/14/2021
Citation: Sargent, S.A., Takeda, F., Williamson, J.G., Berry, A.D. 2021. Harvest of southern highbush blueberry with a modified, over-the-row mechanical harvester: use of soft-catch surfaces to minimize impact bruising. Agronomy. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11071412.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11071412

Interpretive Summary: Harvest of fresh market, southern highbush blueberries (SHB) is labor-intensive and costly. Blueberry growers in the Southeast are demanding for alternative harvest methods. In this research, we harvested SHB cultivars Optimus and Vireo by hand or with two commercial harvesters, one unmodified with standard hard-catch surfaces (HCS) and the other modified with soft-catch surfaces (SCS). Blueberries were sorted into the following categories: blue fruit (marketable), red fruit, green fruit and culls. Percent marketable fruit was more affected by cultivar than harvest method, and determination of bruise severity revealed the benefit of harvest with SCS over HCS for both cultivars. During storage, hand-harvested fruit remained firmer than HCS and SCS which were similar. Using modifications such as “soft” catch surfaces on currently available OTR harvesters reduces bruise damage, while maintaining fruit quality, and can be an economical alternative for blueberry growers.

Technical Abstract: Harvest of fresh market, southern highbush blueberries (SHB) is labor-intensive and costly, leading to a demand for alternative harvest methods. Recent research has shown potential for mechanically harvesting blueberries with minimal bruising by using a modified over-the-row (OTR) harvester. For two harvests, SHB cultivars Optimus and Vireo were either hand-harvested (HH) or mechanically harvested by two commercial harvesters, one unmodified with standard hard-catch surfaces (HCS) or by the other modified with soft-catch surfaces (SCS). For Harvest 1, fruit from all harvest methods were hand-sorted into the following categories: blue fruit (marketable), red fruit, green fruit and culls. Samples from each cultivar and treatment were then held at 24°C overnight, and the following day, firmness and bruise severity were determined. Harvest 2 had identical harvest treatments; however, these fruits were sorted on a commercial packing line prior to packing in clamshells (n=16). A subsample was held overnight as Harvest 2 for bruise severity rating, while the remaining fruit were stored at 1°C for 14 days. Although percent marketable fruit was more affected by cultivar than harvest method, determination of bruise severity revealed the benefit of harvest with SCS over HCS for both cultivars. The former had 16-26% severe bruising, compared to 27-40% for the latter; HH had 1-4%. During storage, HH fruit remained firmer than HCS and SCS which were similar. After 14 days, firmness for ‘Optimus’ was 239 g/mm (HH), 157 g/mm (HCS and SCS) and for ‘Vireo’ was 189 g/mm (HH), 155 N (HCS and SCS). Weight loss increased during storage (1.1- 4.4%), but there was no difference due to catch plate surface. SSC, TTA and Ratio were not affected by catch surface type or storage period within the cultivar. Using modifications such as “soft” catch surfaces on currently available OTR harvesters reduces bruise damage, while maintaining fruit quality, and can be an economical alternative for blueberry growers.