ABSTRACT
The ultimate objective of a strawberry plantation enterprise is optimized output. As the organization of the entire intercultural operations is both science and art, a timely judgement can make a great difference in this crop. Strawberries are high-paying crops but they also need special operations to make them an economically viable enterprise. Although strawberry fruits are tasty and nutrititious, they are very soft and juicy with a highly perishable nature. In ordinary conditions, improper handling leads to spoilage of the crop and may cause great economic losses. Consequently, fruit harvesting is one of the most important operations in strawberry production, and any inefficiency in this operation may lead to reduce overall performance and minimize the good effects of other meticulous production practices. The strawberry fruit becomes rapidly overripe, and once picking gets delayed beyond a certain stage, it is almost impossible to continue, since rotting and overripe berries slow down the picking of the remainder of the crop, while berries picked immature do not have good flavour and appearance (Hughes et al., 1956). Strawberry fruit harvesting can either be done manually or it can be carried out mechanically.
