fruits harvesting

@allknowing (130088)
India
April 19, 2016 6:29am CST
There was some discussion on FB where everyone there was complaining about there not being anyone to climb trees to harvest fruits. This is an issue here in India and a cause for concern. I too am facing the same problem. I see however some of my friends in Western countries seem to go up to the stage of preparing jam and juices with their fruits. How do they manage harvesting them unless there are climbers willing to do that job for them. Or may be they have some mechanical device that takes care of this rather tedious work. Do you have fruit trees and if so how do you manage? Do you climb trees yourself or engage outsiders to do that job for you.
11 people like this
11 responses
@jaboUK (64363)
• United Kingdom
19 Apr 16
I don't have any fruit trees, but I can see that harvesting can be a problem. Are there no young boys looking for work in your area?
4 people like this
@allknowing (130088)
• India
19 Apr 16
No Janet. No young boys that would want to do that job. Unlike the West the moment they enter the portals of a school they think it is beneath them to do such jobs.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64363)
• United Kingdom
19 Apr 16
@allknowing Really? Here youngsters look for work out of school hours, at least some of them do.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130088)
• India
19 Apr 16
@jaboUK That is the biggest drawback here
1 person likes this
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
19 Apr 16
Things like apples and pears can be harvested with long poles with little clawed baskets on them. That's what we use. You hook the fruit and it pops off the stem and falls gently into the plastic catcher up there. You can harvest a few and then lower it. The claws serve as an extension of the basket so the fruit doesn't fall out even when turned sideways. Berries and grapes are easily reached from a standing position, so those aren't a problem.
2 people like this
@allknowing (130088)
• India
19 Apr 16
Our mango and jackfruit trees are beyond reach even with that contraption that you are referring to. We have such a device. Anyway I am planning on chopping down the mango, sapota and jackfruit trees this time.
2 people like this
@allknowing (130088)
• India
19 Apr 16
@OneOfMany They are pretty high. All these years we had people to pluck them using a device. But this time we just pulled them down. We did get some but some got spoilt. Next year I am planning to chop the trees.
1 person likes this
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
19 Apr 16
@allknowing And mango tree sap is something you don't want to get all over either. How high up are those fruits then?
1 person likes this
@Marcyaz (35316)
• United States
19 Apr 16
When I lived in Arizona we had orange trees in our backyard but we were able to just reach up and grab and orange or oranges. We used to have a lot of orange juice.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130088)
• India
20 Apr 16
That is what I am trying to achieve. I will chop down some trees and may be then I could also reach for them.
1 person likes this
@Marcyaz (35316)
• United States
20 Apr 16
@allknowing I hope it works out for you and you can reach your fruits.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130088)
• India
20 Apr 16
@Marcyaz I am determined that atleast next year the situation would have been sorted out
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
19 Apr 16
I think you have to train a monkey to do that! When we were in Thailand, they showed us how they trained the monkey to harvest coconut. They said that they have to send the monkeys to monkey training school!
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
19 Apr 16
@allknowing Perhaps you can start a monkey training school, then you can hire your monkeys to harvest the fruits of all your neighbors.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130088)
• India
19 Apr 16
@scheng1 (lol) No thank you.
@allknowing (130088)
• India
19 Apr 16
I know in some places monkeys do that job. For us it is too much of a bother.
1 person likes this
@marlina (154183)
• Canada
19 Apr 16
There must be some people willing to do the work. With ladders of course.
2 people like this
@allknowing (130088)
• India
19 Apr 16
This particular category of workers are rare here these days.
@Auntylou (4264)
• Oxford, England
20 Apr 16
My husband uses a long plastic pipe of about 4" diameter, puts it under the apples and they come rolling down.I have also used a wire basket tied to a pole. Most of the jamming fruits are low growing!
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130088)
• India
20 Apr 16
That 4" pipe thing seems a nice idea. Do you have to tackle every apple singly? Low growing is the key. I have learnt that the hard way.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130088)
• India
28 Apr 16
@Auntylou I am thinking of trimming them to a reachable level.
@Auntylou (4264)
• Oxford, England
28 Apr 16
@allknowing We have never had a very big crop. I made the mistake of buying a so called dual apple tree, and one side has never been very productive
1 person likes this
@annierose (18926)
• Philippines
19 Apr 16
I love harvesting very much. Both of my parents are trees and plant lovers. My dad has a green thumb and whatever he planted grows. My mom watered the plants and trees that daddy planted. We had jackfruits. Dad used to harvest those jackfruits by himself. We also had bananas and it was dad who harvested bananas too. When he passed away, I replaced his position. We no longer have jackfruit trees and bananas. We just have mangoes and caimitos. When it is already the year of mangoes and caimitos, I transform myself into a monkey. I climbed our rooftop to harvest the mangoes since they can be picked on our rooftop. Sometimes I climb the trees. It is a very perspiring activity to climb trees but it is also fun.
1 person likes this
@annierose (18926)
• Philippines
20 Apr 16
@allknowing But I can just do it when I am home. There are times the fruits rotten because I have too many things to do in my job and I just go home to sleep and there is no one to volunteer to harvest those fruits.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130088)
• India
20 Apr 16
@annierose I am going through that state just now. It was never like this but I must somehow solve this problem
@allknowing (130088)
• India
20 Apr 16
Your household is so lucky to have you.
1 person likes this
@gudheart (12659)
19 Apr 16
I don't do any gardening, but it is great idea to grow fruits and veg if one is able too.
1 person likes this
@ida123 (6206)
• Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
19 Apr 16
We have fruit trees here but in time of harvest, I won't climb or my husband climb the fruit trees because we're afraid we might fall so we hire someone to harvest or get some fruits for us.
1 person likes this
@DianneN (246452)
• United States
19 Apr 16
I don't have fruit trees, nor do I climb trees. I would think that men without jobs in your country would be willing to take on the job for pay.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130088)
• India
20 Apr 16
There was no problem say a couple of years ago but these days such workers are nowhere to be seen
1 person likes this
@rina110383 (24497)
19 Apr 16
We don't have fruits outside the dormitory. When I was a kid, we used to have jackfruit and mango trees. I never climbed those trees. We ask someone to get the fruits. Now, there are no more fruit trees at my parents' place.
1 person likes this