Development of a tractor-drawn rake for oranges
Sumner, H.R.; Hedden, S.L.
Paper - American Society of Agricultural Engineers 80-1528
1980
ISSN/ISBN: 0149-9890
Accession: 000855687
Design requirements established over four harvest seasons, with two tractor-mounted raking systems were used to develop a tractor-drawn rake that gathered oranges into a windrow for pickup. The tractor-drawn rake system allowed the tractor to be used for other functions in the harvest operation and reduced harvest machine investment cost. The constructed unit used three oblique rakes and a horizontal brush to gather fruit into a windrow at the tree dripline or at the centre of the row for pickup. A 37.3 kW grove tractor provided sufficient power in the Florida grove conditions tested. Fruit recovery averaged 99% in groves suitable for mechanical harvesting at raking speeds of 0.8-1.6 km/h in an average fruit load of 22 kg/m of windrow. Fruit damage, recovery and raking speed were influenced by grove conditions.