These nuts have a long history in Australia. Many people have different and nostalgic stories associated with this fruit. It is actually a rainforest nut that is harvested through different practices. From the journey of harvesting trick through hands to the use of a zero turn macadamia harvester, the agricultural industry has succeeded in a better way. In this article, we have shared a little of their history. Plus, we have discussed the ongoing innovation which characterizes the whole agricultural industry.
Just like many other tree nuts, these delicious fruit nuts are also gleaned from the ground once they fall off from its tree. From hundreds of thousands of years, the Australian native people used to harvest this nut fruit in this way, and after collecting them, they use it as a food. They not only use these nuts as a source for food but also in trading and as part of cultural rituals. But from recent few years, this method has successfully replaced by some other technical harvesting methods.
Hard labour:
The late 1970s, the indigenous people of Australia, used to collect the macadamias by hand from the ground. This was comparatively a hard and tough job for a large number of itinerant workers that normally showed up to harvest each year. But, this hardworking could be rewarding for all those workers who were expert at their job. At that time, each worker was paid off on the basis of per kilo. And a worker picked up normally around 100kg per day, whereas an expert worker could easily collect over 300kgs.
New technology:
There was a time when harvesters were imported from the US for the harvesting of almond and pecan. And the first mechanical harvesters introduced were the finger wheel harvesters. These machines work similarly to the machines that are designed to collect golf balls from driving ranges. This type of harvesting machines was either used by hand or pulled behind a bike and most of the times behind a tractor.
Future harvesting:
Orchards were small in the late 1980s, but by 1990s, there comes the time when larger scale orchards started to bear fruit, at that time, the harvest had become mechanized. Rotary brushes, rakes, and tree shakers were experimented by the industry at that time, but they all failed. So in recent years, a zero turn macadamia harvester becomes so popular as these are more powerful and time-saving machines used for the collection of macadamia nuts. Visit our website for more information.
