Technical Specifications
The Kokan Air-Jet Berry Harvester is the result of over a decade of research and development, incorporating precision engineering and robust on-farm reliability.
The Kokan Air-Jet Berry Harvester takes a highly-effective approach to dislodging ripe berries using pulsed jets of air. This machine makes no physical contact with the blueberries until the fruit land on the inflated rubber catching plates.
The velocity and frequency of the air pulses are adjustable, allowing operators to ‘tune’ the harvester to suit different berry varieties, cultivars and fruit maturity.
The Kokan Air-Jet Berry Harvester comes in two power variations: Tractor PTO and independent engine. All variations are pulled by tractor.
This innovative harvester was designed to fulfil the following objectives:
- To reduce net harvest costs
- To mitigate risks of labour, weather and cool-chain control
- To offer consistently superior fruit quality
Orchard Considerations
- Plant architecture: V-shaped plant base
- Row spacing: min. 2.5m
- Crate platforms removable if row width dictates
- Plant in-row spacing: < 1.2m +/-
- Turning headland: min. 7.0m
- Trellis height: < 1.9m (Tunnel Type), < 2.1m (Highline Type)
- Optimum harvest per 12hr shift: > 10 tonne
- Subject to variety, bush age\condition and architecture, orchard\planting layout, production\bush
- Tunnel houses:
- Discuss options with greenhouse supplier to mitigate harvester access constraints; e.g., wires, poles, etc.
- Customise harvest system to suit greenhouse constraints; e.g., pot positioning, headland, wires, poles etc.
Optimising for Your New Harvester
Simple optimisation changes e.g. planting layout and infrastructure adjustments:
- Bush architecture
- V shape bush architecture allows catching-plates to minimise “open” position and thereby minimise fruit loss
- Systematic pruning of old “wood” and control dimension of the “crown”
- Operate night & day as required
- Integrate hand-picking with Air-Jet harvesting as necessary
- Bush architecture
| Kokan 500L Air-Jet Harvester Types | 500L Tunnel | 500L Highline | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvester length with tow bar | mm | 5,200 | 5,200 |
| Harvester length, no tow bar | mm | 4,450 | 4,450 |
| Width with closed platforms | mm | 2,970 | 3,115 |
| Width with opened platforms | mm | 3,250 | 3,970 |
| Height at lowest position | mm | 2,500 | 2,970 |
| Lift height of structure (max.) | mm | 500 | 500 |
| Air tunnel height (min.) | mm | 1,900 | 2,370 |
| Air tunnel height (max.) | mm | 2,400 | 2,870 |
| Inlet air tunnel width | mm | 1,400 | 1,400 |
| Outlet air tunnel width | mm | 900 | 900 |
| Weight | kg | 2,500 | 2,650 |
| Distance between conveyors | mm | 954 | 954 |
| Blower height from the ground | mm | 340 | 340 |
| Air Pulse Nozzles (lowest to highest point) | mm | 1,220 | 1,220 |
| Tractor | HP | > 75 | > 75 |
| Drive | PTO | PTO | |
| Hydraulic oil tank capacity | litre | 90 | 90 |
| Platform dimensions | mm | 1260 x 465 | 1260 x 1185 |
| Capacity of platforms (euro pallets) | units | 0 | 2 (1+1) |
| Min. and max. speed | km/h | 0.3 - 1.8 | 0.3 - 1.8 |
| Manufacturing & shipping period | weeks | 26 | 26 |
| Shipping Container | 20' Standard | 40' High-Cube |
| Kokan 500 "S" Air-Jet Harvester Types | STANDARD MODEL | TUNNEL MODEL | HI-LINE MODEL | MAXI MODEL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length (with tow bar) | mm | 5,200 | 5,200 | 5,200 | 5,700 |
| Width (with lowered platform) | mm | 4,000 | 2,540 | 4,000 | 4,100 |
| Height (lowest position) | mm | 2,650 | 2,450 | 2,950 | 2,950 |
| Weight | kg | 3,700 | 3,800 | 3,900 | |
| Min. and max. speed | km/h | 0.3 - 1.5 | 0.3 – 1.5 | 0.5 - 1.5 | |
| Lift height of structure (max.) | mm | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Air tunnel height (min.) | mm | 2,100 | 1,900 | 2,370 | 2,370 |
| Air tunnel height (max.) | mm | 2,600 | 2,400 | 2,870 | 2,870 |
| Inlet air tunnel width | mm | 1,400 | 1,400 | 1,400 | 1,500 |
| Outlet air tunnel width | mm | 900 | 900 | 900 | 1,000 |
| Engine Power | CAT | CAT | CAT | DEUTZ | |
| Shipping Container | FCL | 20' GP | 20' GP | 40' HIGH-CUBE | 40' HIGH-CUBE |
Optimising for Your New Harvester
Optimising your berry field for mechanical harvest is easily manageable and economically advantageous.
There are a number of factors to consider when optimising your blueberry orchard for harvesting by the Kokan Air-Jet Berry Harvester. Access and clearance of the tractor and harvester are essential initial alterations.
A V-shaped bush architecture allows the catching-plates to minimise time spent in the ‘open’ position, thereby forming a tight ‘seal’ around the primary stems/trunks and minimising fruit loss. Systematic pruning of old wood is necessary to control the dimensions of the crown to achieve this bush shape.
- Planting layout
- Infrastructure adjustments
- Bush architecture (pruning and controlling to a V-shape)
- Harvest planning (eg. night picking now possible)
- Potential for hand-picking to continue concurrently
Kokan Air-Jet Berry Harvester in Practice
Air-Jet Berry Harvester KOKAN 500
Chile demonstration Dec 2019;
- Blueberry – 2kg harvest per metre
- Harvesting rate: 1 tonne/h
- Speed of harvesting: 0.5 – 0.7km/h.
Situational variables include berry variety, orchard layout, bush architecture, crop-load, cost of labour, fruit maturity, current harvest cost/kg and the cost-of-capital.
Each variable contributes to an objective assessment of your particular situation and the commercial benefit of a Kokan Air-Jet Berry Harvester.