Fruit picking
Fruit picking or fruit harvesting is a seasonal activity (paid or recreational) that occurs during harvest time in areas with fruit growing wild or being farmed in orchards.
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Types of fruit
Apple picking
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Apple picking is an activity found at apple farms. Apple orchards may be opened to the public, allowing consumers to pick their own apples or purchase pre-picked apples.[1][2]
Although this is ultimately a method of purchasing apples, it is often a social activity as well. Apple picking is often a very popular dating ritual in the American Midwest. Apple orchards catering to a family outing will provide additional activities beyond the picking of apples. Many have petting zoos, restaurants and country shops that sell related products such as home-made jams and jellies. This aspect of the activity is especially popular in the Northeastern United States & Southern Ontario and Southern Québec in Canada.
The apples that fall off the trees are often used to make apple cider. Apple cider is a juice made grinding the apples, then pressing out the juice.
Workers
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Most fruit picking is done by migrant workers, who can be paid relatively low wages. In California, Mexican migrants most frequently do the work.[3] There has been much controversy about replacing workers with automation. It puts many out of work.
In Australia and New Zealand, people engaging in backpacker tourism do a lot of the fruit-picking work while on a working holiday visa. The Australian government encourages people on this visa to do this sort of work for a minimum of three months so they can add another year to their visa. This benefit does not apply to all parts of Australia - one must undertake work in selected post-code areas to become eligible for the extra year.[4]
Monoculture orchards can face particular labor-timetable issues.[5]
Automation
As labor costs are still quite expensive in fruit picking, robots are being designed that can replace humans for this kind of work.[6][7] The research is still in full progress, especially as the robots need to be carefully designed so that they do not bruise the fruit while picking.[8] One solution is the use of suction grippers.[9] Citrus fruit robot pickers have thus far been the focus of research and development, but cherry pickers are also being researched.[10]
Fruit picking in art
- Lucas Cranach the Elder, Paradise (detail), 1530
- Christian Berentz, Flowers, Fruit with a Woman Picking Grapes, 1696
- William-Adolphe Bouguereau, The grape picker, 1875
- Paul Gauguin, La récolte or Homme cueillant des fruits, 1897
- József Rippl-Rónai, Fruit-picking Women ('Gyümölcsszedő hölgyek)
- August Macke, Obsternte, 1913
- František Jakub (Czech, 1875 - 1940), Obsternte, by 1950
See also
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plucking fruit. |
- "FindArticles.com - CBSi". www.findarticles.com. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- "What pick-your-own-apple orchards teach about the American economy". Slate Magazine.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2009-05-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Fruit Picking in Australia for Backpackers". Fruit Picking Australia.
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Kohen, Reʼuven (1972). he Kibbutz Settlement: Principles and Processes. Hakibbutz Hameuchad. p. 144.
[...] private citrus-growers [...] being monocultural, are subject to constant disturbances in their yearly labour timetable. In the winter they need thousands of hired labourers for the picking season
- "Automation - WSU Tree Fruit - Washington State University". treefruit.wsu.edu. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- "Farms Fund Robots to Replace Migrant Fruit Pickers". WIRED.
- Problems with robotic fruit pickers Archived 2008-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
- "Vision system simplifies robotic fruit picking". vision-systems.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-05. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
- "lovingthemachine.com". Archived from the original on 2008-12-26.