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Sources of Rakes and Harvesters
Rakes and Harvesters
Hand Rakes |
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The Hubbard Rake Company |
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Machine Harvesters |
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Maine Blueberry Equipment Company The Emerson harvester cost about $10,0000 US (80 cm head width) and is produced by Zane Emerson. Currently you have to get on a list and it is a year before delivery. It has a rotating head with a conveyer to bring it into a plastic box (holds 10 kg) behind it.
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J.M. Bouchard et Fils Inc. The Bouchard Rake cost about $2,300 US ( 80 cm head width) and is produced by It has a flat rake head that must be raised to empty into a box behind it (holds 10kg). It is slower to operate than the Emerson harvester.
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Doug Bragg Enterprises
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Doug Bragg Enterprises Ltd. Mechanical Blueberry Harvester consists of a reel-type picking head. The head is side mounted to a tractor in such a manner as to allow the picking head to follow contours of the ground. The reel rotates within the head in the same direction as the tractor wheels. This rotation is at a speed in ratio to the forward motion of the tractor. As the comb type-picking bars rake the blueberries from the plants they are carried around the reel and deposited in a conveyor. This conveyor delivers them to another longer conveyor, which carries them to the rear three-point-hitch mounted loading platform. As the berries fall from the conveyor a blower cleans them. All units are equipped with an electric computerized controller. This controller sends it's signals to an electric-over-hydraulic manifold and corrects the reel rotation speed according to the tractor speed. This harvester can be mounted on most models of tractors from 35hp and up. The operation of this harvester requires two people only, one to operate the tractor and the other to handle the boxes of berries on the rear-loading platform. These harvesters are available in single, double and triple head configurations. These machines have been proven to reduce the harvesting costs as much as 50% and are more efficient than hand raking for product recovery. |
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Hayden Manufacturing Company, Inc. For use on low bush blueberries |
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No product guarantee or endorsement is implied, nor is discrimination intended against other sources.
Prepared by David E. Yarborough, Extension Blueberry Specialist, The University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Orono, ME 04469. (July 2005).
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Last Modified:
April 23, 2008
These pages are currently being maintained from the
Wild Blueberry Extension Office, University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
Send comments, suggestions or inquiries to David Yarborough