Potential Economic Value of Abscission

1
Potential Economic Value of Abscission

• Citrus Mechanical Harvesting Field Day Workshop
• Immokalee, FL
• April 18, 2007
• Fritz Roka
• University of Florida - SWFREC

2
MH Goal lower net harvest costs
Hand Harvest in Pick Roadside (/bx)
Florida 1.60 - 2.00 / bx
Sao Paulo, BR .50 - .75 /bx
3
CCSC TSC
250K (?)

1M
4
Canopy Shaker with Pick-up

• Machine harvest
• Flexibility NO
• Scale Economies YES

5
Lower Cost through Higher Capacity
Harvested Boxes/Season
BX/HR
HR/Day
Day/Season
6
Abscission Impact (BX/HR)

• Faster harvest speed
• Higher recovery percentage (?)

7
Abscission Impact (HR/Day)

• Less machine force,
• Fewer breakdowns,
• Increased runtime

8
Abscission Impact (Day/Season)

• Access to entire Valencia acreage
• Earlier start date (i.e. October)
• More acreage if grower perceives less damage.

9
The Multiplicative Effect
1.60