Olive removal with pneumatic branch shaker and abscission chemical Original Research Article

Shaking tests showed that the removal percentage of olives without chemical application was lower than 50%. However, application of abscission chemical reduced the FDF/W ratio and thus increased the removal percentage of olives. The lowest fruit detachment force and the highest fruit removal (96%) were obtained by employing a frequency of 24 Hz and 12.5 mL/L concentration of abscission chemical with constant amplitude of 60 mm. Moreover, it was found that the fruit removal efficiency increases with decreasing olive detachment forces.