Harvesting large, round lettuces is a skilled job, and although some advances have been made to automate picking of the small ‘pointy’ lettuces, such as Little Gems and romaine, the Iceberg remains a manual operation.
The Agri-TechE membership, which includes producers, engineers, technologists and researchers, will be given the opportunity to ride an iceberg harvesting rig at G’s Growers to understand first-hand the practical difficulties of harvesting.
Dr Belinda Clarke, Director of Agri-TechE, says that the immersive experience will assist the collaborative approach: “There is nothing like sitting beside someone wielding a large knife to focus the mind! Harvesting needs to optimise the quality of the product while picking as fast as possible to meet customer demand, which is now 24/7. We expect a bit of healthy competition between the teams and that will add a fun element to a serious issue for producers.”
A multi-disciplinary approach can generate radically different solutions, but a deep understanding of the challenge is needed to ensure any resulting technology is fit for purpose.
Anthony Gardiner is Communications Director for salad producer G’s Growers, which works with a cooperative of farms across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and abroad. He says the company is continually innovating and major advances have been made in machinery, breeding and cultivation to automate the production of salads.
He explains: “Our lettuce harvesting is still heavily dependent on that hand labour team. We have made incremental improvements to the rigs and have managed to semi-automate many parts of the process, or made it easier for the operatives.
“But the Iceberg with its big round shape is complex to harvest; you want to retain the heart and let the older outside leaves fall away, which requires a dexterity of hand and eye that we have not yet been able to replicate through a mechanised process. That is the last piece of the jigsaw – the ‘lettuce conundrum’, you might say.
“I am looking forward to explaining the harvesting challenge to the Agri-TechE membership and to see how they get on. The feedback from Agri-TechE is that everyone is keen to have a go so there should be a great atmosphere – with some beer and a hog-roast to round it off!”
Members of Agri-TechE will be trying their hand at harvesting on 13th September 2022, at a location in Cambridgeshire.
