Labour requirements for thinning Pink Lady apples using different technologies

August 2022 | Jessica Fearnley, NSW DPI | Future Orchards® trial report

Hand thinning is a major seasonal labour requirement in Pink Lady®/Cripps Pink production, making it an important target for labour-efficiency improvements. This Future Orchards® trial examines the labour required when thinning is carried out using different technologies.

The trial is designed around a practical grower question: whether changing the way workers access the canopy can reduce time per tree while maintaining an acceptable thinning outcome. Platform-based work and conventional approaches can be compared in terms of labour demand, movement through the row and the practicality of reaching different canopy zones.

Because labour savings are only valuable when crop-load decisions remain accurate, the report should be read in the context of both productivity and thinning quality. The value of any system depends on orchard layout, canopy structure, worker training and the ability to keep the work flow continuous.

This resource is particularly relevant to growers reviewing platform investment or redesigning orchard systems for more efficient manual operations.