Analysis of fruit and oil quantity and quality distribution in high-density olive trees in order to improve the mechanical harvesting process

Castillo-Ruiz, Francisco J.; Jiménez-Jiménez, Francisco; Blanco-Roldán, Gregorio L.; Sola-Guirado, Rafael R.; Vega, Juan Agüera; García, Sergio Castro

doi:10.5424/sjar/2015132-6513

Cited by 25 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…In the period from October 26 to December 21 upper and lower layers show significant differences increasing at similar rate; 22.5% in the upper layer and 23.9% the lower layer. These results agree with previous studies done in Arbequina comparing different canopy fruit position . The maximum MI reached in our study was three where more than half of the fruit skin had turned a purple color, our results are in accordance with Kalogeropoulos and Kaliora that described the olives as having the highest phenolic compound content at the stage between the green and purple skin …”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 93%

Influence of fruit canopy position and maturity on yield determinants and chemical composition of virgin olive oil

2019

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BACKGROUND: While both maturity and light exposure are important factors determining olive fruit physiology, the relationship between maturity, canopy position and optimal harvesting time has not been well-studied. To understand the interaction of these factors, olive fruits from upper and lower layers of the canopy were harvested from September to January. Maturity, moisture and fat content of the fruit as well as the quality and minor components of the oil extracted were measured. RESULTS:Lower light interception at the lower canopy positions resulted in differences in the fruits and oil extracted between canopy layers. Upper layer presented 60% of the overall production; fruit had one unit more of maturity index, 3% less moisture and 5% more fat content. Oil extracted from the upper layers presented higher concentration of oleuropein and ligstroside aglycone. Fruits from upper layers at maturity index of two had higher fat content and more total phenols in the oil extracted when compared with fruits from lower layer with the same maturity index. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in oil composition between layers do not correlate with differences in the fruit maturity index;instead, fruit position is a determining factor for physiological processes related to fruit growth and oil composition.brix, 16 dry matter 17 or fruit respiration. 18 Studies have also found that there are connections between fruit maturation and specific sterols and fatty acids present in the fruit pulp. 19 Additionally, non-destructive methods have been developed by measuring anthocyanin content in the peel 20 or using fruit external color and texture. 21 Olive oil quality parameters, such free fatty acidity, peroxide value, specific UV absorbances and sensory attributes have also been shown to change along fruit maturation. 22,23 Previous studies were performed to study how temperature, 24 incident light, 25,26 maturation or canopy position 6,7 in the fruit influence productivity and composition on the oils extracted. However, there is a lack of understanding on how canopy management can influence fruit maturation along harvest season in order to understand if there are possible interactions between these factors. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the effect of fruit canopy position on fruit maturation and oil composition and to determine which parameters are determinant for the optimal harvesting time. MATERIAL AND METHODS Plant material and experimental designThe study was carried out at the Wolfskill Experimental Orchard Field Station from University of California, Davis (Winters, CA, USA) (38.502920, −121.977120). Trees of Arbequina cultivar of ten years old, managed under sprinkler irrigation were used in this experiment. The trees were trained to vase system (5 m × 6 m) with a single trunk with two main branches, oriented along the row, starting by 0.5 m height above ground. Two more couples of main branches were inserted at 150 and 230 cm above ground respectively. The average height of the trees was 3 m and the averag...

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 93%

Influence of fruit canopy position and maturity on yield determinants and chemical composition of virgin olive oil

2019

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“…Among the tasks that impact orchard production, tree pruning remains as a costly practice with important implications for harvest [ 1 ], nutrition, pest and disease control, and irrigation strategies [ 2 ]. The pruning type and its intensity modify the tree crown to differing degrees of severity, which notably affects the tree physiology and, consequently, the fruit quantity and quality [ 3 , 4 ]. Investigations on tree pruning usually involve the characterization of the tree architecture by measuring several geometric features of the crown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying pruning impacts on olive tree architecture and annual canopy growth by using UAV-based 3D modelling

et al. 2017

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BackgroundTree pruning is a costly practice with important implications for crop harvest and nutrition, pest and disease control, soil protection and irrigation strategies. Investigations on tree pruning usually involve tedious on-ground measurements of the primary tree crown dimensions, which also might generate inconsistent results due to the irregular geometry of the trees. As an alternative to intensive field-work, this study shows a innovative procedure based on combining unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology and advanced object-based image analysis (OBIA) methodology for multi-temporal three-dimensional (3D) monitoring of hundreds of olive trees that were pruned with three different strategies (traditional, adapted and mechanical pruning). The UAV images were collected before pruning, after pruning and a year after pruning, and the impacts of each pruning treatment on the projected canopy area, tree height and crown volume of every tree were quantified and analyzed over time.ResultsThe full procedure described here automatically identified every olive tree on the orchard and computed their primary 3D dimensions on the three study dates with high accuracy in the most cases. Adapted pruning was generally the most aggressive treatment in terms of the area and volume (the trees decreased by 38.95 and 42.05% on average, respectively), followed by trees under traditional pruning (33.02 and 35.72% on average, respectively). Regarding the tree heights, mechanical pruning produced a greater decrease (12.15%), and these values were minimal for the other two treatments. The tree growth over one year was affected by the pruning severity and by the type of pruning treatment, i.e., the adapted-pruning trees experienced higher growth than the trees from the other two treatments when pruning intensity was low (<10%), similar to the traditionally pruned trees at moderate intensity (10–30%), and lower than the other trees when the pruning intensity was higher than 30% of the crown volume.ConclusionsCombining UAV-based images and an OBIA procedure allowed measuring tree dimensions and quantifying the impacts of three different pruning treatments on hundreds of trees with minimal field work. Tree foliage losses and annual canopy growth showed different trends as affected by the type and severity of the pruning treatments. Additionally, this technology offers valuable geo-spatial information for designing site-specific crop management strategies in the context of precision agriculture, with the consequent economic and environmental benefits.Graphical Abstract

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“…The harvester height (Figure 2, A+B) was 3.7 m and related with mean tree height because, although tree production at the top is less than 20%, it gives a high oil yield [19] . Moreover, this is well within the limits of legal restrictions (maximum 4.5 m).…”

Section: Geometric Determination Of the Machine Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mean canopy volume suitable for harvesting was about 2.18 m of penetration from the exterior. This is because tree mean radius was 3.18 m, but within the inner canopy volume there is an area 0.5m from the centre of the tree that produces both very low quantity (less than 10%) and oil yield [19] . On the other hand, the outer tree growth produces flexible branches that allow compression of the canopy by the removal system without major debris [20] , about 0.5 m from the canopy exterior edge according to previous experience.…”

Section: Geometric Determination Of the Machine Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

An innovative circular path harvester for mechanical harvesting of irregular, large-canopy olive trees

Sola-Guirado

Blanco-Roldán

García

et al. 2018

International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering

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Abstract:The harvesting process of the olive tree is mainly performed by manual means, because traditional olive orchards (the main planting typology) are formed of irregular, large-canopy trees that are very difficult to harvest mechanically. For that reason, the cost of harvesting is very high, and it threatens the future of these plantations whose conversion to other more modern layouts is not always possible due to several limitations. The introduction of a harvester may represent the technological change that is the key factor for improved competitiveness. The main purpose of this work was to develop a harvester based on canopy shaker technology for work on irregular, large trees in a circular path. The design of the harvester was based on a determination of tree geometry, together with tree training. Field tests were used to determine machine-tree interaction, and to evaluate the removal, catch frame and driven systems. The proposed innovation allowed the fully mechanical harvest of previously planted trees with a removal efficiency of over 84%, achieving an effective field capacity of 0.21 hm 2 /h. Although the results so far have been promising, further improvements are advisable in machine and tree

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Analysis of fruit and oil quantity and quality distribution in high-density olive trees in order to improve the mechanical harvesting process

Cited by 25 publications

References 30 publications

Influence of fruit canopy position and maturity on yield determinants and chemical composition of virgin olive oil

Influence of fruit canopy position and maturity on yield determinants and chemical composition of virgin olive oil

Quantifying pruning impacts on olive tree architecture and annual canopy growth by using UAV-based 3D modelling

An innovative circular path harvester for mechanical harvesting of irregular, large-canopy olive trees

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