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Tomato Fruit Quality as Affected by Ergonomic Conditions While Manually Harvested

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  • Łukasz Kuta

    (Institute of Environmental Protection and Development, The Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Geodesy, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-375 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Piotr Komarnicki

    (Institute of Agriculture Engineering, The Faculty of Life Sciences and Technology, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-375 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Katarzyna Łakoma

    (Institute of Agriculture Engineering, The Faculty of Life Sciences and Technology, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-375 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Joanna Praska

    (Institute of Environmental Protection and Development, The Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Geodesy, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-375 Wrocław, Poland)

Abstract

The harvest phase plays an important role in the whole process of production of tomato fruit. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure a technological process that will not damage biological materials. The harvest phase plays an important role in the whole process. Many growers use special machines for harvesting, but there are fruits and vegetables that should be harvested manually to avoid damaging the surface or parenchyma tissue of the harvested objects. In addition to maintaining the quality of biological materials, work comfort, and ergonomic conditions for pickers should be ensured because inadequate working conditions do not encourage employees to undertake manual work in horticulture. Therefore, there have been shortages of workers on Polish plantations in the past year. Based on manual tomato harvesting, the authors conducted a matched qualitative research study on biological materials and work ergonomics. For this purpose, the Grip System was used to investigate tomato quality by assessing the impact of picking hand pressure (in three different picker’s body positions) on the harvested objects. Simultaneously, for the picker’s ergonomic analysis, a non-invasive surface electromyography method was used to precisely measure changes in muscle motor unit action in the picker’s wrist and lumbar spine while in three characteristic picker’s positions. The tests found that the poorest body position was when the body was deeply inclined and simultaneously twisted. No significant effect was shown of the body position of the tomato picker on the deterioration of the picked fruit quality. However, body positions significantly affect the level of physical load and work comfort.

Suggested Citation

  • Łukasz Kuta & Piotr Komarnicki & Katarzyna Łakoma & Joanna Praska, 2023. "Tomato Fruit Quality as Affected by Ergonomic Conditions While Manually Harvested," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-18, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:9:p:1831-:d:1242454
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eleni Vrochidou & Viktoria Nikoleta Tsakalidou & Ioannis Kalathas & Theodoros Gkrimpizis & Theodore Pachidis & Vassilis G. Kaburlasos, 2022. "An Overview of End Effectors in Agricultural Robotic Harvesting Systems," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-35, August.
    2. Linlu Zu & Mingzheng Han & Jiuqin Liu & Pingzeng Liu & Tianhua Li & Fei Su, 2022. "Design and Experiment of Nondestructive Post-Harvest Device for Tomatoes," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-19, August.
    3. Elham Faez & Seyed Abolfazl Zakerian & Kamal Azam & Kyle Hancock & John Rosecrance, 2021. "An Assessment of Ergonomics Climate and Its Association with Self-Reported Pain, Organizational Performance and Employee Well-Being," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-18, March.
    4. Roger C. Jensen & Royce L. Bird & Blake W. Nichols, 2022. "Risk Assessment Matrices for Workplace Hazards: Design for Usability," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-23, February.
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