olive-harvest-method

Olive Netting: Recommendations & Strategies

Trippling productivity overnight is the status quo for growers switching to Infaco’s electric olive harvester. A key component is having the right netting.

Netting Strategy

Workers lay down nets along each side of a row of trees, bunching up nets around the base of each tree. In this diagram, workers would lay out 4 nets (A, B, C, and D).
Workers with olive harvesters (red) go from tree to tree working the front and back of the tree simultaneously.
As workers with olive harvesters (red) get towards the middle of nets C and D, netting workers (yellow) gather up nets A and B, dump olives into bins, and move nets A and B in a leap-frog pattern to the next section of the row in advance of of the workers with olive harvesters (red).

Netting Recommendations

70% knitted shade cloth: Because these nets will be dragged along the ground, the tight weave ensures that the cloth won’t catch on twigs. Selecting a knitted cloth is especially important so that the nets don’t unravel if torn or cut.
20 ft x 60 ft lengths: We have some clients that use 20′ x 100′ nets but these are quite heavy so we have started recommending 60′ long lengths instead.
Grommets for clients with hilly terrain: For those with hills, grommets will allow you to stake down the nets or tie them to trees.
Taped Edges: We have some clients who select this and some who don’t. It does make for a much neater net that will probably last a bit longer as the edges won’t fray as easily when being dragged.

Call us at (925) 371-0796 x4 and we’ll be happy to provide you with quality netting supplier recommendations!

Client Example

Olive Leaf Hills Mill has over 12,000 trees to harvest each year.

Before: Had 3 teams each with 10 people harvesting (30 people total). Workers brought in 2 tons of olives per day.
After: With the netting method described above, Brooke went down to 3 teams each with 6 people plus 1 floater to help all 3 teams (19 employees total). Workers brought in 6 tons of olives per day. Each team looks like the diagram above and consists of:
- 2 workers with olive harvesters (red)
- 4 workers running that team’s nets (yellow)