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Alternatives
to Manual Sorting Using Selected Electronic Graders in Asparagus
Fresh Packing Sheds: A Cost-Benefit Analysis
by Trent
Ball and Raymond Folwell*
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 Copy
of EB1958 in pdf format may
be downloaded here. |
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In
the United States (U.S.), nearly 80% of asparagus consumption is fresh
product. To optimize the shelf-life of fresh asparagus for the consumer,
the grading, sorting, packing, and cooling in an asparagus fresh packing
firm must be done rapidly and efficiently. Asparagus is a highly perishable
crop, with a shelf life of 3 weeks after harvest under optimum conditions
(Robinson et al., 1975). |
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The
current method of handling asparagus in most domestic fresh packing
firms is unchanged from the methods used in the 1950s. The methods
include extensive hand labor, which is required to visually sort,
grade, and orient spears that are bundled and marketed. If this is
to be done efficiently, it requires a high-speed evaluation of approximately
0.5 second for each spear (Rigney et al., 1992). |
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The
fast inspection of a large number of spears becomes demanding on a
manual grader’s consistency. Further, the intense concentration
by manual graders and long hours in a fresh packing firm can cause
fatigue and reduce performance (Yang, 1992). Quality of the final
product deteriorates as defects are missed, and the precision of bunching
by size is reduced. The use of automated systems for grading asparagus
could increase productivity along with improved quality in the grading. |
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In
this study, selected electronic graders are evaluated based on a
cost-benefit analysis compared with the current system. The objective
is to evaluate the substitution of asparagus grading technology
for manually grading asparagus spears in a typical domestic fresh
packing firm. Individual packing firms must analyze such technologies
to determine if the machines can be inserted into their respective
facilities based on size requirements. This study will focus on
comparisons from an economic perspective among the current method
of packing fresh asparagus in the U.S. with electronic grading.
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Grader,
above, and Sorter, below.
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*Trent
Ball is an Associate in Research, working with Dr.
Ray Folwell, on the asparagus project. In November 2001, he traveled
to New Zealand to study the asparagus industry there, and traveled
to California to study asparagus production in June 2003. |
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