Influence of tree's structure on the efficiency of the mechanical harvest of olives

This study represents an analysis about the influence of the structure of the plant and the drupes’ position on the efficiency of the mechanical harvest of olives. The aim is to study the eventual correlations between some geometrical characteristics of the plants and the harvest efficiency. The experimental tests were carried out in an olive grove sited in Castelvetrano, province of Trapani; the variety was Nocellara del Belice, the plants “globe” shaped. Some morphological surveys were carried out on a sample of trees. The mechanical harvest was performed with a trunk shaker provided with an upside down umbrella. After the harvest, the residual production was quantified for each bud in order to evaluate the harvest efficiency. The results showed that, in order to have a harvest efficiency higher than 80%, the geometric and morphologic parameters of the plants have to be: length of the main branch from 2 to 3 m, distance of the bud from the central axe of the tree from 1.30 to 2.30 m, height of the bud from the ground from 1.90 to 2.85 m, length of the fructiferous bud from 0.25 to 0.40 m. The above mentioned values are certainly to be referred to orchard having a regular lay out of planting of 6.00 x 7.00 m and mean circumference of the canopy about 10 m.