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Michigan Specialty Crop Harvest Advances

Peach and pear harvest has been completed in northwest Michigan, while the harvest of early season apples continues.

The latest progress report from USDA says McIntosh apple harvest is winding down in the southeast, going strong in west central and the Ridge, and just beginning in the northwest.

In the west-central region, color, size and firmness are reportedly good to excellent.

But crop loads are said to be lighter because of frost in early May.

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Designing a Robotic Berry Picker

Video: Designing a Robotic Berry Picker


Since blackberries must be harvested by hand, the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. To support a growing blackberry industry in Arkansas, food science associate professor Renee Threlfall is collaborating with mechanical engineering assistant professor Anthony Gunderman to develop a mechanical harvesting system. Most recently, the team designed a device to measure the force needed to pick a blackberry without damaging it. The data from this device will help inform the next stage of development and move the team closer to the goal of a fully autonomous robotic berry picker. The device was developed by Gunderman, with Yue Chen, a former U of A professor now at Georgia Tech, and Jeremy Collins, then a U of A undergraduate engineering student. To determine the force needed to pick blackberries without damage, the engineers worked with Threlfall and Andrea Myers, then a graduate student.