Pruning methods help to control the mature height of trees, but even with careful pruning, fruit at the top of trees is difficult to reach. Dwarf fruit trees grow from dwarf rootstock so they grow smaller than full-grown species, but dwarf trees can still grow too tall to reach. Some fruits fall from trees when you shake the limbs or come off when twisted, but other fruits don't come off easily. Several simple tools make it easy to harvest fruit from trees when you can't reach the fruit.
Clippers and Shears
Various hand tools with spring-loaded blades are available specifically for the purpose of cutting fruit from trees. The major difference between fruit clippers and shears and garden variety pruning shears is that fruit cutting tools generally have rounded or blunt tips at the end of the blades to prevent puncturing or bruising fruit. Clippers with a blunt, square tip are generally used for harvesting citrus fruits. After positioning the blades around the stem just above the fruit, you simply squeeze the handles to cut the fruit from the tree. Clippers that grip the stem and hold the fruit after cutting allow you to harvest fruit without holding a bag to catch dropped fruit.
Harvesting Knives or Hooks
Harvesting knives make ground-level fruit harvesting easier, particularly when the fruit isn't easily plucked from the tree by hand. Unlike clippers and shears with two blades, harvesting knives feature a single blade that is usually curved like a hook. A harvesting knife might be preferred over clippers because you simply put the blade behind the stem and pull forward to cut the stem without the extra attention it takes to position the stem between two blades. Although the time difference is minimal, the extra positioning time quickly adds up when harvesting large amounts of fruit. In addition to harvesting fruit from trees, this type of tool is widely used to harvest grapes from grapevines.
Pole pruners, with long or telescoping handles, make it easy to reach fruit on branches as high as 12 feet high. Pole pruners feature spring-loaded blades that operate with a cord that you pull after positioning the blades on a stem. Available with aluminum or wooden poles, this tool is the best option when the top branches can't be accessed with a ladder. It helps to have someone hold a tarp or blanket to catch the fruit so it isn't bruised as it falls from high in the tree.
Baskets and Bags
Picker baskets, which are attached to long handles, allow easy access to fruit in high tree branches. Usually made of metal, the basket features a series of hooks at the top that you position on top of the fruit. When you pull down on the pole, the hooks force the fruit off the branch and it falls into the basket. The basket is best for harder fruits, such as apples that can endure the short drop from the branch to the basket. Delicate fruits, such as mangoes, citrus fruits and avocados, benefit from a softer picking system. A pole pruner with a cutting edge and soft catching bag, such as mesh or canvas, gently catches soft fruits as you cut the stems.
Your Planting Articles
- University of California-Davis Postharvest Technology and Information Center: Small-Scale Postharvest Handling Practices: A Manual for Horticultural Crops (4th Edition)
- University of California-Davis Alameda County Master Gardeners: Harvesting Fruit
- Michigan State University: Harvesting: Tools, Timing and Pests
- University of Rhode Island Landscape Horticulture Program: What Is Pruning?
- Danida Forest Seed Centre: Tools for Harvesting Tree Fruits
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