Get FinancingMeet Oxbo’s Berry Harvesters
Oxbo International is a familiar sight in the field with its harvesters, heads, sprayers, and spreaders. In the specialty crop segment, however, its presence is undeniable. One example is Oxbo’s range of self-propelled and pull-type berry harvesters. The company’s current models focus on blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry crops, but they can also be used for other berries such as jojoba, sour cherries, aronia, haskcaps, caneberries, and saskatoons. Oxbo builds its customizable berry pickers to customer specifications in Lynden, Washington.
Innovative Picking Heads
Success in this market depends on the ability to pick only the ripe fruit as much as possible, separate it from leaves and other debris, and avoid damage from unnecessary (or unnecessarily long) drops. Key to the first part of this equation are Oxbo’s three different mechanisms to pick the berries, or rather shake them loose from the plant.
The Orbirotor picking system offers a gentle approach. Vertical bristle brushes with 5/8-inch (1.6-centimeter) acetyl rods roll freely as they pass by the plant. The shafts move the rods up and down to carefully dislodge ripe berries and leave unripened ones behind.
The Dynarotor looks similar to the Orbirotor, but it agitates the plant horizontally with stiffer 3/8-inch (0.95-centimeter) fiberglass rods. This picking head uses a more aggressive (but user-adjustable) action.
Finally, Oxbo offers a traditional Sway shaker. This system uses banks of rods—shaped like hair combs with widely spaced teeth—to sway the plant back and forth.
Catch ‘Em and Clean ‘Em
Under the picking head, spring-loaded catchers resembling the blades of a ceiling fan gently envelop the stalk of the plant to catch the falling berries. Oxbo says that its catchers can recover more than 90% of the loose fruit with regular maintenance in the field.
As for debris removal, Oxbo harvesters offer three types of cleaners to separate the proverbial wheat from the chaff. The Knife-Edge pre-cleaner blows air across the empty underside of the fruit conveyor belt to clear away clinging debris before it takes on more berries. The Push-Pull blower system is a gentle cleaning method that minimizes bruising of delicate IQF (individually quick frozen) or fresh-market fruit. Finally there’s the Fluid Bed cleaner, which was an Oxbo original back in the day.
Current Models
Oxbo’s self-propelled 7440 is a multi-crop harvester for blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. It can be outfitted with any of the company’s three picking heads and uses the carefully effective Push-Pull cleaning system. Key features include an extra-wide 60-inch (centimeter) picking tunnel, all-wheel hydrostatic drive, up to five pallets’ worth of onboard storage, support for fruit storage in totes, lugs, barrels, or flats, and an Eco-mode that adjusts engine speed to demand to cut fuel consumption and emissions.
The 8040 is a low-profile blueberry harvester, and it puts its catchers lower on the plant to catch more fruit. The single-drop model conveys berries to the rear for lug or tote collection. Its features include a Total Control Joystick and Fluid Bed cleaning. It can use any type of Oxbo berry picking head.
Oxbo’s 9120 is a side-drive harvester for IQF raspberries. It uses the gentle Orbirotor picking head (which can also handle blueberries), as well as Push-Pull and Fluid Bed cleaning. Its 23 inches (58.4 centimeters) of harvester lift makes it usable in a broad variety of fields. The 9120 is known for its maneuverability and tight turning radius, Oxbo says.
Finally, there’s the Oxbo 930 tow-behind harvester for blueberries. It can be powered by a 540 rpm PTO and only requires a tractor of 30 horsepower (22.4 kilowatts) or more. It features a full-sized picking tunnel, single-drop delivery, and compatibility with any Oxbo berry picking head.
All Oxbo berry harvesters feature food-grade hydraulic oil. Options (which may not be available on all models) include Auto Steer and Auto Height systems, LED lights, side guard lower belts, high-floatation tires for soft field conditions, beater options, and more.
Find The Right Oxbo Harvester For The Job
SpecialtyCropEQ.com showcases a growing selection of new and used Oxbo berry harvesters for sale, including the Oxbo 7440 and Oxbo 9120. You’ll also find other types of new and used Oxbo agriculture equipment at TractorHouse.com.
Source: Oxbo International