Mechanization of coffee harvesting

Coffee harvesting is largely a manual operation, mostly done using hired labor, which may be expensive. Hand harvesting allows for precise selectivity during the harvesting process. Only ripe coffee berries can be harvested, leaving the unripen berries on the coffee tree to mature and be harvested later on. This creates a premium product that is highly desired and financially rewarded within the coffee industry.

Mechanical harvesting is one of the most important activities in the agricultural crops management. A majority of mechanical coffee harvesters use variations of related vibration technology used by the fruit and nut growing industry.

Mechanization of coffee harvesting - the strip harvesting, cleaning and transportation operations involved in harvesting are mechanically performed, which are feasible on large, technologically advanced and favorable topography.

The machine can harvest much more coffee in the same time. They have rotating and vibrating rods that knock the cherries loose. A system of plates and pipes then catches them and transfers them to a holding bin.

In general, harvesting equipment based on principles of a mechanical shaker consist of the shaker, collecting frame (catching units) and conveying devices, usually mounted on a self-propelled carrier, usually a tractor.

The basic principle is to accelerate each fruit so that the inertia force developed will be greater than the bonding force between the fruit and the tree. The excitation force is typically derived from cyclic oscillation of either a crank slider or two opposite rotating eccentric masses connected to the tree to be harvested.

The use of coffee mechanical harvest increases the operation efficiency, contributing to cost reduction and, furthermore, decreased harvest time reduces fruit exposure to the environment, which contributes to increased drink quality.
Mechanization of coffee harvesting