Picking Machines - Shaker Machines for Olives, Citrus, Almonds and Palms - Dotan Ltd

The citrus fruit-harvesting machine for industry is in principle a trunk shaker. The machine consists of an angled frame for collecting the fruit that falls from the tree during shaking, with the shaker being assembled underneath the frame.

The shaker is capable of shaking the branches of the tree and separating the fruit from them by shaking the trunk, and this is done without causing damage to the bark of the tree.

The machine is capable of shaking 2 trees per minute and, with a yield of 250 kg per tree, harvesting capacity is 30 tons per hour, with the fruit falling directly from the tree onto the ground. This method is suitable for regions where the work force is relatively cheap and employing a collection system together with the shaker is economically unjustified. Usually, the shaker works in unison with a collection machine, with the two machines advancing in parallel along the rows on either side of the trees.

The shaker removes the fruit from the tree and rolls it down to the collection frame on the other side of the tree. The collector transfers the fruit by means of elevator conveyors to an hydraulic trolley with a capacity of 3,000 kg. The contents of the trolley are then transferred to a truck that removes the fruit from between the rows to a transport vehicle. The need to coordinate the working of the pair of machines slows down the rate of advance to 80 trees per hour which, with a yield of 250 kg per tree, represents 20 tons per hour.