After years of manual harvesting, a pumpkin harvesting machine for orange Hokkaido proves to be a significant step forward.
Convincing Results
“In the past, we needed fourteen people to harvest,” says David Egelmeers. “Now we do it with four.” The machine places the pumpkins onto a conveyor belt, separates the foliage, and automatically fills the crates. Without causing damage or losing the stems. This careful handling is essential, because at NZ27 we strive for the best possible product. The pumpkins must remain undamaged to ensure good storability. Thanks to the new machine, we can also harvest more flexibly and choose the exact right moment.
The investment was substantial, but the results are convincing. While manual harvesting yielded around fifty crates per day, the machine now averages one hundred. Quality remains high as well: “Most varieties pass smoothly through the machine without damage.” In addition to the well-known orange pumpkins, we also grow Jumbo Pink Bananas for baby food under Demeter certification and according to the highest quality standards.
Read the full article on Ekoland.nl. Also watch the video showing how we harvest pumpkins with their stems intact.
