4.2 Harvest
The harvesting method is dictated by a combination of the requirements of the
processing method, economic considerations and availability of labour. In general, four
harvesting systems can be identified: 1) multi-pass selective picking (finger picking) where
the picker takes only ripe cherries; 2) multi-pass stripping where whole bearing shoots are
stripped off only if bearing predominantly ripe cherry; 3) single-pass stripping where
everything is stripped off as the workers get through the orchard; 4) mechanical
harvesting where machines, sometimes hand-operated, use vibration to knock the fruit
from the trees.