Rapporto Interno IMAMOTER No. 19/1997. Mechanical harvesting for processing red raspeberries.

Rapporto Interno IMAMOTER No. 19/1997. Pubblicazione disponibile presso la biblioteca IMAMOTER, Torino Most of the Italian red raspberry fruit are hand-picked and sold on the fresh fruit market. Italian farmers cannot produce for processing because of the reduction in available labour, increase of labour regulation and resultant costs. This paper describes red raspberry mechanical harvesters, and their work quality and harvesting rate. It explains red raspberry training system and plantation layouts in use for mechanical harvest in the best developed red raspberry producer countries. Mechanical harvest costs have been determined for North Italian conditions. It has been based on average assumption. Fruit price, harvesting rate and loss percentage, have been used on different level assumptions and cost per hectare value is shown for each combination. Circumstances that would allow red raspberry mechanical harvest in North Italy are described.