
Harvest begins with picking every apple by hand.
Bins full of freshly harvested fruit are pulled from
the orchard rows and are ready to load onto trucks.
Trucks bring the fruit to the receiving stations.
Samples are taken from bins for inspection.
Pressure tests and starch tests are taken and logged
by grower number and lot number.
Fruit is brought inside and ready for processing. Fruit
to be pre-sized is dumped from the field bins into the
pre-size area.
Apples are then presorted to pull out culls and debris.
The pre-size room is a vast space. Up to 48 flumes
are "pre-sized" and ready for packing.
Apples are graded for color and size, placing them
in the appropriate flume for that run.
Apples float down the flumes where they will be placed
back into bins and put into refrigeration until packed.
Fruit is brought inside and ready for processing.
Field bins and pre-sized bins full of apples run through
the automated dumper to begin the process through the
packing facilities.
Apples float down the float tanks toward the presort
tables.
Apples take a short ride up a conveyor to the presort
tables. Presorting helps remove culls and debris.
Apples travel down towards the dryer.
Apples have been cleaned and dried and are now on their
way to the color sorter.
The color sorting equipment sorts out color grades.
The step of sorting by hand is still needed.
Apples now have passed the sorting tables and travel
down lanes to the individual sizing lanes.
Before fruit is ready to travel to the packing equipment,
apples are stickered with a PLU number.
Sizing keeps the fruit a consistent size. Each lane
take fruit down the line and is dropped into the appropriate
place for packing.
These machines pack the fruit by use of robotics. Suction
cups pick up the tray and place it into the carton.
Then they pick up a full tray worth of fruit and place
it into the carton onto the tray. Then the process is
repeated until the carton is full.
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