Machine Will Pick Only Ripe Fruit

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31152, 31 August 1966, Page 8

Machine Will Pick Only Ripe Fruit

(New Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND, August 29

Scientists in the United States were developing harvesting machines which would be capable of telling ripe from unripe strawberries, an Auckland scientist, Mr J. D. Atkinson, said today.

Mr Atkinson, who is director of the Fruit Research Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, has just returned after 10 weeks overseas attending three scientific conferences and visiting research laboratories.

High labour costs in the major fruit-growing areas of North America were responsible for a great deal of research into mechanical methods of harvesting, he said.

Machines were available now for picking figs, walnuts, sour cherries for pies, peaches for canning, tomatoes and lettuces, as well as the more usual things such as peas.

A great deal of work was also being done on the development of new varieties of fruits and vegetables which were more suited to mechanical harvesting.

The production of processed fruit and fruit juices was a very competitive business in North America. If New Zealand wanted to compete on these markets

with juices, some way of producing juice concentrates would have to be developed, or shipping costs would be too high. On the other hand, only a few types of fresh apples seemed to be popular. In the West and mid-West, Red Delicious was the popular variety, and supermarkets stocked little else. On the east coast, Mackintosh apples seemed more popular, but few shops seemed to stock more than two or three varieties.