In short
Organising the apple harvest in a commercial orchard comes down to three numbers: when each block reaches maturity, how many bins must come off each day, and how many pickers that takes.
This guide is about orchards and picking crews, not home gardens or seasonal job listings. The Planva orchard platform records the crew, the labels, the containers and the weights, so a shift can be checked after it ends.
When each block is ready
Wisconsin extension specialists Atucha and van Zoeren advise sampling each cultivar and each block separately, because maturity varies even within a block. They suggest 5 to 8 trees per block, marked so the same trees are sampled each week, and 2 to 4 fruit per tree from outer branches. Sampling starts 4 to 5 weeks before expected harvest, weekly at first and several times a week as the fruit nears maturity, and samples are ideally processed within two hours of picking.
| Target use | Starch index (1 = full starch, 8 = none) | Flesh firmness |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh market | 5.5 to 7.0 | Use with other indices |
| Storage or processing | 3.0 to 5.0 | Use with other indices |
| Long-term storage, 3 to 8 months | Not stated | At least 15 lb |
| Short-term storage, 1 to 2 months | Not stated | 13 to 16 lb |
These are general references. Optimal values differ by cultivar, and starch conversion is not uniform in Gala, Honeycrisp and Fuji, which makes the starch test harder to read. Check the values for your varieties with your regional advisers before setting dates.
How many pickers a block needs
A harvest workshop of five leading UK apple growers, summarised by British Apples and Pears Limited, gives a plain method. Take the date of the first pick and the target finish date, work out the bins that must come off each day, and divide by the average bins per picker. One grower targets 6 bins per worker per day where possible and 4 as a minimum. Another averages 6 bins per person over a nine-hour day. Rates depend on bin size, variety and crop load, so the growers calibrate by picking sample bins with experienced pickers.
| Step | Worked example, invented figures |
|---|---|
| Bins expected in the block | 1,200 |
| Days available to pick | 12 |
| Bins to come off each day | 100 |
| Pickers at 6 bins each per day | 17 |
| Pickers at 4 bins each per day | 25 |
The gap between 17 and 25 pickers is the cost of an untested rate. If the rate is wrong, either bins wait on the tree or the crew stands idle.
Rigs, crews and supervision
- Bin trains. Two growers use trains of 6 pickers, one with 4 bins per train. One grower reports trains cause the least damage to fruit and make quality easy to supervise.
- Platforms and machines. One grower uses platforms for fruit above 1.8 m, about a third of the crop in that orchard. Self-propelled harvesters are reported to be about a fifth more efficient, though one grower says the capital cost is hard to justify on picking alone.
- Supervision. Ratios in the summary run from one supervisor for 12 pickers to one for 18, and one team leader with two supervisors for 6 to 8 train teams.
- Quality control. Two quality checkers per 36 pickers at one grower. Bin labels carry the picker or gang name, and results from the store go back to the supervisor.
One pass or two
The growers differ. Some prefer to strip pick when pre-harvest thinning has been good. One says two picks are usually needed for the main clones to reach marketable quality, and another always grades in the field so that only high-quality fruit reaches cold store. The choice depends on variety, colour and the market, and it changes how many pickers each pass needs. Plan the passes before you plan the crew.
What to record so a shift can be checked
- Who and where. Crew, block, variety and date for every container.
- What was planned. Bins per day and pickers per block, so the day can be compared with the plan.
- What came off. Weight per container and per crew at the weighing point.
- What was wrong. Rejects, bruising and missing labels, with the supervisor who was responsible.
How this works in Planva
- Shift plan and orders. A plan per date holds blocks, work types, volumes, norms and the number of workers. For harvest it also holds the variety and quality. Orders carry the shift time.
- Crew workday. QR badges, a checkpoint and a timesheet. Teams are formed and rows assigned.
- Labels and containers. QR labels are printed from an approved harvest line, with the crew leader, block, variety and quality. Containers have a number, QR, tare weight and capacity.
- Weighing station. The label fills in the crew leader, block, variety and quality. The gross weight is typed, net weight is calculated and split between workers, and mismatches are flagged without blocking the weighing.
Planva does not calculate pay and does not read scales. It does not tell you when to pick. The orchard management software page describes the platform, and apple yield per hectare shows what to compare the crop against.
Sources
Common questions
Sample each block for maturity from 4 to 5 weeks before the expected pick, work out the bins needed each day, divide by the average bins per picker to get the crew size, and plan supervision and quality checks before the first pick.
The real Planva interface, shown with test data.
