Bulk Handling of Fruit

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 89, Issue 5, 15 November 1954, Page 459

Bulk Handling of Fruit

FRUIT growers are always interested in ways of saving labour costs and perhaps at the same time taking some of the hard work out of fruit growing. To this end mechanisation plays a big part, and a recent trend is toward various forms of bulk handling of apples and pears. In this article T. Conway, Horticultural Instructor, Department of Agriculture, Hastings, describes an effective bulk handling system installed by a Hawkes Bay orchardist.

ABOUT 15 months ago a Hastings fruit grower, Mr. E. J. R. Milne, went to Nelson to obtain details of the effectiveness and design of a fruit handling system employed by a Nelson grower and which was described in the December. 1953 issue of “The Orchardist of New Zealand” by G. S. Northcote, Horticultural Instructor, Department of Agriculture, Nelson. As a result Mr. Milne has now installed bulk handling equipment on his own orchard based on the Nelson grower’s principle but with, he feels, many improvements. The equipment consists of: — 1. Twenty-four wooden bins each having a capacity of approximately 50 bushels of apples. 2. Three low, flat-bottomed tractor trailers. 3. Hoist and gantry on rails for handling the bins in the packing shed. Mr. Milne’s orchard is not in one compact unit and fruit has to be hauled some distance from one of the orchard areas. The number of bins

not only facilitates the work on his two orchards, but is important in providing the means of assuring ample reserve stocks of fruit in the packing shed if the weather is wet. Probably

one trailer and 12 bins would be sufficient for most orchards, especially at first. ■. Reinforcing of Bins j. ‘ The bins are constructed of lin. timber and are Bft. x 4ft. x Ift. 6in. To prevent spread of the bin when it is filled it has been found necessary to reinforce it with three flat iron bands running down one side, across the bottom, and up the other side; there is one band close to each end and one mid-way between the ends. Each trailer platform is approximately twice the size of one bin ’ so that two bins can be carried and filled in the orchard from the pickers’ bags without disturbance. If desired, a second tier of bins can be placed on the bottom bins when they have been filled. To facilitate emptying of bags into the top tier a low set of steps is provided for pickers alongside the trailer. The empty bins are easily handled by two men. The hoist in the packing shed consists of a pulley and endless chain mounted on wheels on a gantry running on steel rails. The rails are mounted on heavy timber supports about the same height as the shed walls and running along each side of the shed from the end of the shed to about level with the middle of the sorting table. With the gantry movable lengthwise in the shed and the hoist movable crosswise on the gantry it is a simple matter to take full bins direct from the trailer to the grading table or to stack them up to four high alongside the table. Empty bins are stacked across the end of the shed. There are two doors to the shed (one on each side) with a driveway through the shed just behind the

grader bench. This allows tractors and trailers to be driven into the shed behind the grader bench for discharge. Along one side of the grader there is considerable shed space for. the storage of full bins of fruit, which are placed in tiers three or four deep. To avoid undue strain on or twisting of the bin when lifted full a spreader or frame, made of old cool-storage piping, with hooks at each corner to attach to the corners of the bins, is used. It is attached to the pulley by short chains. Method of Operation The full bin is lowered on to a frame which is in the position formerly occupied by the hopper. Beneath the frame is a system of compensating weights, finely adjusted so that as the weight of the bin settles on the frame the bin slowly tips forward to the maximum tilt required to discharge the fruit on to the grading, bench. The removal of a slide from the front of the bin provides a well bevelled and oblong opening about 2ft. wide by 7in. deep through which the fruit moves at a suitable even flow on to the grader. Only occasionally is it found necessary to give the bin a light knock to keep the fruit moving. As the bin is emptied the compensating weights return it to level in readiness for replacement with another full bin. This operation takes one man about 3 minutes, a full bin being lifted directly from a trailer or from reserve supplies on the shed floor. The empty bin is placed on the trailer for return to the pickers or taken across the driveway to the end of the shed away from the grader.

It is intended shortly to replace the manual operation of the hoist with an electric motor. Record Crop Handled The equipment is well constructed and is effective and efficient in operation. It has now had a thorough test with a record crop for this orchard of some 20,000 cases of apples and pears. There is no doubt that the installation is operating efficiently. Mr. Milne and his sons are enthusiastic about the results and are convinced that it will prove an asset on any property where fairly large quantities of fruit are handled. Even with a soft variety, such as Golden Delicious, there was less bruising than with normal methods of handling. Summarised, the advantages are: — Much less bruising occurs than formerly because of less handling. Time and _• hard work are saved because of the elimination of picking boxes. No damage results from over-filled picking boxes. Ample reserve stock can be assembled in the packing shed. Good utilisation of shed space is assured. The . material for the hoist, runners, and bins cost about £3OO. To this must be added the cost of making the trailers, plus the time spent on the construction and assembly of the equipment, which was done by the grower and his sons. This is obviously a really worthwhile development, the success of which must be of considerable interest to fruit growers in Hawkes Bay and elsewhere.

BULK HANDLING IN PACKING SHED