Effects of an integrated harvest system on the quality of olive fruit for small producers

Small producers confront specific challenges when they opt to produce high-quality olive fruit. Limited resources for investing in harvest machinery and manpower are the main reasons for continuing a traditional harvest method that puts the final product and its economic value at risk. This paper discusses the efficiency of an integrated harvest system as a possible solution to these specific challenges. The system is formed by a newly designed manual harvesting device and the use of a cooling room near the olive grove. Both systems were evaluated to assess their feasibility for optimum conditions before processing. The combined effect of the harvesting method and cold storage on the fruit characteristics (incidence of decay, skin color, weight loss, firmness, respiration, and ethylene production) was evaluated on three different varieties (‘Arbequina’, ‘Picual’ and ‘Verdial’) and four different storage times (0, 4, 8, and 14 days). The results indicate that the proposed harvesting method in combination with an appropriate cooling system offers an affordable alternative for obtaining fruit with the best physiological characteristics.