INDUSTRY NEWS
Afron Twin D put to the test
THE Afron Twin D made its debut in Australian almond orchards during the 2024 harvest . The shake and catch machinery has been used in Californian for the last four harvests . The side-by-side harvester has two shaking heads . This gives the versatility to shake from either side of the tree , allowing for efficient harvesting even when one side has less visibility .
Sticks and leaves are removed from the crop before it is placed into either a bulk cart or windrowed . There ’ s less dust during harvest because there ’ s no need for sweeping . Trees need to be trained with a minimum 700mm clearance from the ground to the first branch . A demonstration of the Afron Twin D was held at the Almond Centre of Excellence and orchard manager
Anthony Wachtel said it was one of his highlights from the 2024 harvest . “ The Vela was harvested when the fruit was green before there was any windfall . It was put into windrows , but it dried in four days because it was really hot ,” he said . The Gallard Group harvested their orchard this year with the machine , it will be used for contracting and demonstrations in the 2025 harvest .
Ofi adds to its GUSS fleet
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SIX more autonomous sprayers are being added to ofi ’ s fleet . The new GUSS units will be used in the company ’ s New South Wales orchard . Ofi now has a total of 16 autonomous sprayers in its fleet . Eight sprayers can be managed by one controller , but ofi ’ s general manager orchard operations Louw Lourens said coverage quality and consistency is a key factor . “ Connectivity remains one of the single largest challenges . Our private LTE network still forms the base of maintaining control of the automated systems , and we will continuously work with our service providers to look for better technology to support better coverage , but also penetration through dense canopy cover ,” he said . Conventional sprayers are still being used on more than 60 % of the company ’ s orchards . Mr Lourens said ofi is planning to trial autonomous harvesting equipment next year . “ We will trial autonomous shakers for the 2025 harvest , but also vision streering on some of our sweepers to drive higher efficiencies ,” he said .
In A Nutshell - Winter 2024 Vol 25 Issue 2