JOURNAL OF FOOD ENGINEERING, vol.76, no.2, pp.148-153, 2006 (SCI-Expanded)
This study involves designing a branch shaker operating with an air compressor and its application for harvesting olives. Fruit detachment force (FDF) and fruit weight (W) were measured and hence the changes in the percentage of removed fruits with shaking were determined at different maturity times. During the harvesting season, two sets of experiments were conducted to test the shaker in the removal of Halhali cultivar olives (Olea europaea L.) with and without application of abscission chemical (ethrel). Experiments were also carried out to determine the effect of the chemical on fruit detachment force, fruit weight, and mechanical harvesting efficiency.