Mechanical Harvesting: History

Many forms of integrated machine harvesters have been developed and evaluated, although by the early 21st century, most machines worked by striking the canopy to remove fruit and catching it with horizontal conveyor belts. The early New York development was the ‘vertical impactor’, which used a metal finger to strike the vine cordon; the shock dislodged the berries. However, the most common form of harvesting now is the ‘horizontal slapper’ which uses fibreglass rods to strike the foliage and dislodge the fruit, sometimes as single berries, sometimes as bunches.