There are many different ways in which fruits and vegetables are harvested. The harvesting method depends on the crop, how it is grown and the resources available. For example, if it is a crop where there is machinery available to do or to help with the harvesting, those methods can only be utilized if the grower or harvesting company can afford to use that machinery to get the crops harvested. Below, I have outlined the common harvesting methods of fruits and vegetables, and included examples based on the footage I have been able to gather at different harvests.
Table of Contents
Harvesting Methods
In general, these are the three different harvesting methods that take place when harvesting fruits and vegetables:
- Hand Harvesting
- Harvesting with Hand Tools
- Harvesting with Machinery
However, it is important to note that it is hard to categorize the different types of harvesting because there can be some overlap.
1. Hand Harvesting
Hand harvesting is just that: produce is harvested by hand, without the use of any tools. When hand harvesting, it is typically done using a picking cart or some sort of container. A common example of a hand harvest with a picking cart is a strawberry harvest. While, an example of a hand harvest using containers is the hand harvesting carrot operation you have seen previously on the blog. (There are two different types of carrot harvest that can be done: hand harvest for the fresh market or machine harvest for carrots that go on to be processed in to baby carrots or something of that sort.)
2. Harvesting with Hand Tools
This harvesting method is typically carried out when harvesting tree fruit, where some sort of clipper (usually specialized for the type of produce being harvested) is used to remove the fruit from the tree, and then the fruit is placed into harvesting containers. Once the harvesting containers are full, the harvested product is transferred to larger bins in the field, of which those are then transported to the facility. Some examples include the harvesting of fresh figs, peaches, and Cuties. Although this is very common in the harvesting of tree fruit, it does also occur for other produce items, such as onion (the non-machine harvesting operation), garlic and row crops.
3. Harvesting with Machinery
There are a lot of different harvesting types that land under this category. There are operations that perform hand harvesting and harvesting with hand tools that also use harvesting machinery (e.g., harvesting rig) to aid in the overall harvesting and packing process. But, there are also harvesting operations that use the harvesting rigs to perform further “semi-processing activities” or postharvest washing. Then, there are also harvesting mowing machines and combines. All of these harvesting types serve a specific purpose, based on the type of produce being harvested, and considering the amount of investment that goes into the machinery, it needs to make sense.
- Harvesting Using a Harvesting Rig – Commonly, the produce items are either hand harvested or harvested using tools and then passed on to the workers working on the harvesting rigs, where the product can be packed; washed and packed; trimmed, washed and packed; etc. The harvesting rigs serve as an aid in the packing process and then once the product is packed, or prepared for the processor, it is transported (typically via a conveyor belt) over to an adjacent trailer that is responsible for transporting the product out of the field. Some examples of this include the harvesting of cauliflower, cantaloupe, and romaine hearts (this is an example of semi-processing activities in the field).
- Harvesting Using a Mower – The mower harvests have been perfected to rely heavily on the mowers and not so much on actual workers. There is the mower, with a few workers on it or at least one driving it and then an adjacent trailer to capture the harvested product. Some examples include the harvesting of spring mix and basil. Another form of a mower that you have seen is as part of the 3-step almond harvesting process (which also includes a sweeping and shaking machine).
- Harvesting Using a Combine – Combines are used to harvest grain crops. They pass through the fields and mow down the grain crops and remove the desired portion into the machine and spit the rest out the back. An example of this is a corn combine that is used to harvest corn that is harvested to be used in processed products (e.g., corn chips, corn tortillas, etc.).
Harvesting Methods – as Determined by the PrimusGFS Audit
If you are familiar with the PrimusGFS food safety audit, I have outlined the harvesting types to follow along with how they are distinguished in the audit, along with corresponding video examples (all links are clickable). You can see the entire video library of different harvesting processes HERE.
4.06.10: Grading & packing tables
- Strawberry Harvesting and Packing (both the picking cart and grading/packing tables)
4.06.11: Re-usable containers
4.06.12: Tools
- How Asparagus is Harvested & Packed
- Harvesting & Packing Escarole Lettuce
- How Garlic is Harvested & Packed
4.06.13: Harvest machinery
- How Processing Tomatoes are Harvested
- How Cauliflower is Harvested
- Harvesting & Packing Kale
- Almond Harvesting
- Harvesting Spring Mix
- Sweet Potato Harvest & Packing
4.06.14: Product contact water
4.06.15: In-field processed/semi-processed
4.06.16:Transport vehicles
- You can see examples of these in almost all of the harvesting videos on The Produce Nerd’s YouTube channel, whether it be the adjacent trailer moving alongside harvesting machines or trucks that continuously come to pick harvested pallets, take them to the cooler and return.
There are many different types of harvesting processes that have been generalized for the purposes of this post, but all harvesting operations serve a specific purpose to maintain the highest quality of the produce while maintaining the most efficient harvesting process possible. If you would like to see more, you can check out the harvesting videos that I have posted on YouTube or you can review the Behind the Scenes posts on the blog.
Good Work, I’ve been researching which products are machine harvested and which products are hand picked, Can you please update your list and make sure to include beans and grains.
I recently built a mini garden, and everything we harvested in the past week in our urban homestead has been an incredible growing season. The amount of fruit and vegetables we grew has been unbelievable.
Cool.