Pre-Harvest Check List:
Managing the Orchard Floor

Managing the orchard floor prior to harvest can help harvest run more smoothly and reduce food safety risks from microbial contamination in the orchard, according to UCCE Farm Advisor Joe Connell. Connell offers the following tips for preparing the orchard floor during summer months for harvest:

 

 

• Make sure the orchard floor is clean; practice good sanitation to remove any animal scat or other potential contaminants.
  
  
• Create an orchard floor that is smooth, bare and firm to create an optimum environment for sweeping, blowing and picking up harvested nuts.
  
  
• Take care of last-minute gopher and ground squirrel problems and their holes and mounds.
  
  
• Focus on weed control to create clean orchard tree lines and middles and make harvesting and sweeping more effective.
  
  
• Minimize sticks on the harvest floor from shaking by removing deadwood in trees during the summer.

In addition to these preparations, follow these practical steps to minimize the risk and potential spread of microbial contamination within the orchard:

• Reduce uneven areas within windrows that could result in pooling of water from potential rain during late-season harvest.
  
  
• Consider creating a temporary diversion channel to prevent rainfall from draining from berms into windrows.
  
  
• Take steps to reduce dust at harvest to help limit the spread of contamination while also meeting air quality objectives, such as proper sweeper head setting and slower speeds.
  
  
• Develop a farm policy to exclude domestic animals from free access to the orchard.
  
  
• Map out neighboring animal production operations on orchard layout maps.
  
  
• Minimize sources of habitat, nesting and hiding places for rodents around orchard and farming operations.
  
  
• Keep equipment yards and debris piles away from orchards.
  
  
• Identify and document the common and seasonal presence of wildlife near and within your orchard.