No need to climb trees within 4 m to harvest and prune fruit trees; Tainan Agricultural Improvement Station introduces a new machine
To address the frequent accidents in which fruit growers fall from trees, the Tainan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station (Tainan Station) of the Council of Agriculture introduced a "mobile elevated work platform for orchards" last year. Chang Wen-chao, associate researcher at the Tainan Station, said the machine was introduced from Spain and meets considerations such as labor saving and safety; farmers can use it for field management applications including pruning, bagging, harvesting, shoot removal and training.
At present, one unit of this machine costs 600,000 yuan. Chang Wen-chao stressed that this is only the price of introducing one unit; if in the future farmers find it useful and want to expand the introduction, the price can be pushed lower, or it may also be included in agricultural machinery subsidy programs in the future.
The machine is only suitable for flatland orchards; deep furrows and steep slopes both carry operating risks
Regarding practical application issues with the machine, Chang Wen-chao responded that similar machines in the past were all four-wheel drive and not very maneuverable, but the three-wheeled model introduced now is more conducive to maneuverable operations entering and leaving orchards. "However, if the tree shape is too compact, the machine cannot operate either, so after the trial, if farmers think the machine is useful, they must then adjust their planting method, such as changing the row spacing of plants, so the machine can enter more easily." Moreover, the machine is currently still only suitable for flatland orchards; if the orchard furrows are too deep or the slope is too steep, there may be danger during operation, so the orchard area must be adjusted appropriately.
Future improvements with electric drive to reduce noise
Are there other directions for improvement? Chang Wen-chao responded that because this machine uses a diesel engine, it does not conform to current environmental trends, and the engine is loud, so farmers operating it for long periods will feel the noise is too great; therefore, efforts are currently being made to improve it toward electric drive. Chang Wen-chao also said that during trials, more than a dozen farmers generally found it useful; some farmers less familiar with agricultural machinery may not yet be very accustomed to it, but farmers highly skilled with agricultural machinery all felt it is quite useful in flatland orchards.
However, farmers also raised the hope that one machine could serve multiple purposes by adding mowing and harvesting functions. "But if you want to add more functions, the cost will increase accordingly, and farmers may not be able to bear it. At present, we are first testing whether this machine is actually useful, and then we will discuss cost. If farmers think it is not useful, then there is no need to discuss the later issues."
600,000 yuan per unit; price can be lowered if the introduction is expanded
As for how soon farmers can begin introducing this machine, Chang Wen-chao said that if farmers do not mind the noise of the diesel engine very much, they can actually introduce it right away, but if the functionality of the machine is to be further enhanced, such as with an electric engine, it will be necessary to negotiate with the manufacturer again, and if harvesting and mowing functions are to be added, the development time will be longer. At present, one unit of this machine costs 600,000 yuan. However, Chang Wen-chao stressed that this is only the price of introducing one unit; if in the future farmers find it useful and want to expand the introduction, the price can be pushed lower, or it may also be included in agricultural machinery subsidy programs in the future.