The Tropical Fruit Forum

Citrus => Citrus General Discussion => Topic started by: Isaac-1 on December 28, 2018, 05:31:35 PM

Title: Citrus picking, shears, etc?
Post by: Isaac-1 on December 28, 2018, 05:31:35 PM
Well it is that time of year, harvesting citrus here in Louisiana (Mostly Satsumas).  This year I have been using a set of anvil style pruning shears like these to snip the fruit from the tree.  https://smile.amazon.com/gonicc-Professional-Pruning-GPPS-1001-Effort/dp/B01CULCL62/  Overall I find they are handy, and do an ok job when blindly reaching to cut the stems through the leaves on the Satsuma Trees.  I have one unknown variety of mature Satsuma tree that tends to grow the fruit in bunches father in from the edge of the tree than my other varieties, on this tree these clippers don't work as well as there is less room to reach in between the cluster of fruit to snip the individual stems, so I often end up clipping the whole bunch of 5 or 6 fruit then separating out the individuals from there.   In a good year I may have 2,500 - 3,000 Satsumas to harvest over a 3-8 week time period, so having the right tool for the job helps, probably more as the years go by and my younger lightly producing trees get into their prime, 10 citrus  trees total, though 7 of these are still immature and have been planted over the last 3-4 years and have yielded less than 50 fruit total to date) .

What type do you use, and what do you like / dislike about them?
Title: Re: Citrus picking, shears, etc?
Post by: TooFarNorth on December 28, 2018, 08:02:35 PM
I use a pair of large dog nail trimmers.  I like the blunt ends, so there is no punctured fruit when they are in clusters. The curved blades help to get in tight spaces, once on the stem, they seem to slide around it easily.  They are spring loaded, which helps a lot, but the lock to keep them closed can get in the way.  I may remove it.  I am testing them this year to see how they work out, and so far, I like them.

TFN
Title: Re: Citrus picking, shears, etc?
Post by: TooFarNorth on December 29, 2018, 04:35:11 PM

(https://i.postimg.cc/9RpV6qbF/1229181630.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/9RpV6qbF)