This machine can harvest 6000 pounds per hour of the baby spinach, arugula or lettuce planted at high densities. Engineers added what’s called the tickler, a comblike device in the front to shoo off insects preventing them from getting sliced up with the leaves. With conveyor belts separated by 6-8" space where heavier objects are removed with the help of small fans and a sort belt to drop out the undersized leaves this harvester performs the amount of work that could only be done by hand in the past by approximately 35 skilled workers. If we consider that the bagged salad has become a $2.6 billion industry it is understandable why growers are paying more than $100,000 USD for this equipment. (Source: Valley Fabrication CA and Discover magazine).
To contact Marco Peña go to: marcop@ag.arizona.edu

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For questions or comments on any of the topics please contact Marco Pena at the Yuma Agricultural Center.
College of Agriculture, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.