Progressive Crop Consultant May/June 2021

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Peak acceleration(g) 250 200 Day of bruise assessment Drop height (ft) Day of drop After 14 days 150 2 11.4 16.2 3 100 14.4 19.7 4 20.3 25.6 2 50 3.1 4.9 3 3.7 2.0 0 0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 4 2.9 6.6 0 0.6 2.0 Drop height (inch) Continued from Page 5 Along with documenting fruit impacts with a BIRD, a closeup video camera recorded the harvesting to pinpoint critical control points where most impacts were created. The results showed that the drop to the plastic catch plates on the harvester accounted for over 30% of all impacts on the BIRD, followed by the drop from the grading belt on the harvester into an empty lug (20%). When the lug is filled with blueberries, fruit-to-fruit impacts occur, which are much lower than when the fruit fall into an empty lug. Impacts created by the conveyor, including secondary bounce from the catch plates, and shaking rods combined for another 25% of recorded impacts. The remaining 25% of impacts that occurred before the sphere contacted the catch plate were classified as obscured impact events which could not be identified clearly from the video and were attributed to contact with the shaking rod, branches and the vertical tunnel panels. These measurements suggested that the most significant reduction in fruit impacts could be achieved by 1) Modifying the catch plates; 2) Reducing drop heights, either by restricting bush size, placing catching surfaces closer to the fruit or decreasing drop heights at other transition points; and 3) Placing softer surfaces at the transition points (e.g., at transfer points in the fruit handing equipment on the top of platform.) The two parts of the impacts include the number of encounters between the sphere and different surfaces of the harvester and the magnitude of these impacts. In our study, the harvesting process was documented with video that recorded time-stamped impact events with the larger, heavier BIRD I sensor. Legend Stainless steel plate Glued foam pad on stainless steel plate Suspended foam pad Suspended fabric net Figure 6. The relationship between various contact surface materials and drop height. The impacts were collected with a BIRD II sphere dropped from different heights. Using these parameters, the OTR MH process was divided into four phases: Phase I (detachment and falling), Phase II (fruit hitting the catch plate/conveyor belt), Phase III (elevation from the conveyor/transfer belt to the top platform and conveyance through a trash blower) and Phase IV (dropping from the conveyor belt into the lug). Results showed that for the rotary drum shaker, the BIRD sensor recorded an average of 18 impacts in Phases I to IV. During Phase I, it is assumed blueberries detached by fast-moving harvesting rods that shake left and right, impact branches as they fall and/or are flung out to the side panel. There were about five impact events in Phase I, but magnitudes of these impacts proved to be less significant than initially assumed. In Phase II, the BIRD contacted the catch plate and usually only one or two events were recorded. The magnitude of the impacts in Phase II was extremely high compared to impacts recorded in Phases I, III and IV. Our results strongly suggested that the high impact that the falling blueberries receive at the point of contact with the catch plate injures the fruit, resulting in fruit softening and larger bruise while the fruit is in storage (Figures 3 and 4, see page 5). Further analysis was performed by dropping the large, heavier BIRD I sensor onto a hard-plastic catch plate from different heights (6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 in) (Figure 6). As expected, the impact values (peak acceleration at impact (g) increased sharply linearly with increasing drop height, ranging from 280 g at 6 in to about 800 g at 48 in (data not shown). In subsequent studies, impact measurements were made using the smaller and lighter-weight BIRD II sphere by dropping onto soft surfaces created by placing Figure 5 . BIRD II (red sphere) connected with a 4-pin connector to a laptop to charge its internal battery, initiate impact measurements or download collected data to a laptop or mobile device. cushioned padding on top of the hard plastic plates or by suspending the soft material (no hard surface underneath.) A wide range of impact values were obtained depending on the hardness of the catch plate (Figure 6). Impacts greater than 200 g were recorded on hard surfaces such as a stainless-steel sheet and a plastic catch plate even when the BIRD II was dropped from a height less than 30 cm (12 in). Gluing a soft surface to a hard surface reduced impact; however, this type of surface still created high impact above a one-foot drop height such that blueberries falling 30 inches onto such a surface would still be bruised. For example, the suspended foam sheet we used in our harvest-assist blueberry picking machine in 2017 generated less than 200 g even when the drop height was 42 in, but well above the 120 g at which ripe blueberries can be bruised by impact force. Only the netted fabric that acted like a hammock produced low enough impact force and kept the blueberries from getting bruised even when the fruit was dropped from a 48-in height. Thus, it was thought that replacing the hard, plastic fruit catching and collection surfaces with soft and durable catching surface materials and plate design features that prevent soft surface from contacting any hard surfaces underneath had the potential to improve the quality of MH blueberries and reduce bruise damage associated with high mechanical impact. In terms of mechanical impact to blueberry fruit, our research has shown that bruise damage and the loss of firmness in MH fruit can be decreased by reducing space between blueberries on the bush and the catching surface to 12 Continued on Page 8 6 Progressive Crop Consultant May / June 2021
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Progressive Crop Consultant May/June 2021

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