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Show Educator Sees Mechanization Of Crop Harvest By Dr. J. Lamar Anderson, USU Association Professor of Plant Science Within 10 years any crop that cant be harvested mechanically wont be grown commercially in the state. Is that a safe prediction? We expect that mechanical har- vesting will be used with all crops, even raspberries. We will see it in all fresh vegetables and fruits, although fresh peaches may be last 20 Years Ago ' Twenty years ago there was practically no mechanical harvesting of fruits and vegetables in the state. Diggers were used to lift potatoes and sugar beets out of the ground, but that was about all. Since mechanication makes possible greater efficiency in use of land, labor and facilities, it is being applied in operations from seeding to packaging. This move to mechanization is coming about as labor prices and itself out of the pushes agriculture field. For example, unionizing the grape growers has brought about a situation in which all grapes be harvested soon will mechanically. The growers cant afford to do otherwise. Pie Cherries Presently 75 percent of all the pie cherries are mechanically harvested in the state. You get an idea of the saving from this mechanical harvesting by looking at the Gay Pettingill farm in Box Elder county. Three years ago 125 migrant workers would spend a day and a half working from daylight until dark picking and delivering the sour cherry crop to the cannery. The cost was five cents per pound. Now, with a mechanical picker, seven people working hours can pick three and one-haand deliver the crop at three cents a pound. What is more, the cherries delivered in ice water are better quality. lf Expensive Equipment the mechanical Although shaker equipment required an investment of $20,000, Pettingill figured it would pay for itself in two years. It has resulted in a saving of $1,000 a day during harvest. Besides harvesting his own crop, he has been able to do custom work with it. With it he has been able to pick one tree a minute. It has enable him to pick at the optimum time into ice THIS PLANT HD WITH water to avoid bruising and loss of sugars. We figure that by , using BOX ELDER 3 Brigham City, Utah Sunday, April 2, 1 972 NEWS, chemical growth regulators, harvesting of the cherries can be facilitated by speeding up the ripening of part of the cherries. The critical time for harvesting can be spread over more time. the That, coupled with mechanical harvesting, will make it possible to get the crop at its peak. Only a Few At present, only a few sweet cherries to be processed into maraschinos are being harvested mechanically. The present fresh market calls for cherries with the stems on; this requires hand picking. But, if the buying preference can be changed, so that consumers will readily take cherries without stems and grapes loose from the bunch, packed in pastic bags, these crops can be adapted readily to mechanical har- weed control. In a one-ovoperation, you will get wfeed control, fertilization, and shaping of the beds. Our research indicates that uniform ripening of the tomatoes can be obtained with the growth regulating chemical Ethral so that the tomatoes can be harvested in one operation with the mechanical harvester. Tomato varieties suitable for mechanical harvesting have been developed. Generally, they are smaller, more oblong in shape and not as juicy as the standard varieties. Their firmness makes it possible to handle them in 50 bushel bulk bins. With chemical weed control and the development of monogerm seeds, direct seeding of vesting. Crops grown for processing are rapidly going to mechanical harvesting. Nearly all nut crops, canning cling peaches, prunes and apricots for canning can now be mechanically harvested. The tomato industry is moving very rapidly in that direction in other states. If we dont do it in Utah, we will lose out to California where their tomato production is almost entirely mechanized. Tomato Variety Dr. Orson Cannon of USU is developing a tomato variety aimed to make complete mechanization possible under out climatic conditions. It will germinate when the soil is 10 degrees cooler than required to germinate other varieties. We expect this development will make it possible to go to direct seeding and chemical In our possible. field trials we have demonstrated that good weed tomatoes is research and control can be obtained in tomatoes and sweet corn entirely by the use of chemicals. Since no cultivation is needed, this illustrates a tremendously big potential in use of agricultural chemicals to reduce labor costs. However, with the present public sentiment against use of chemicals, the chemical companies are scared and reluctant to make the investment required for developing new products. Mechanization of apple picking has yet to be perfected. Presently, nearly all apples are picked by hand and put into 50 bushel bulk bins GUARANTEE $281 par mo. & your choice of 70 Redeem this coupon at your nearest Air Force Recruiter and find out about the Air Forces Guaranteed Job Program. Your choice of 70 guaranteed jobs in fields such as law enforcement, precision measurement, medical, electronic communications, aircraft maintenance, accounting, administration, and management to name only a few. 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