A mechanical harvester prototype, developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is being studied in Washington state fresh-market cherry orchards. These Skeena cherries were harvested with the machine last year. The Pacific Northwest sweet cherry industry likely will face significant, periodic labor shortages this season. The consequences of an insufficient harvest labor force affect the entire industry and can impact grower returns via crop losses (from not being able to harvest the crop at all) and/or reduced fruit quality (from not being able to harvest the crop at optimal quality). Fruit quality declines as growers are compelled to hire picking […]