Prediction of the toughness of date palm fruit.

This study aimed to predict the toughness of date palm fruit (Barhi, Saqie, and Khodry varieties) at different ripening stages (Khalal, Rutab, and Tamar) using Hertz Theory by evaluating the physical and mechanical characteristics of the fruits. Physical measurements revealed that high moisture content in the Khalal stage led to larger dimensions and mass across all varieties, with Barhi dates showing a moisture content of 63.31%, which decreased to 32.

Power requirements for olive mechanical harvesting using trunk shaker.

A mathematical analysis was conducted to predict the power requirements of the olive trunk shaker. The predicted required power of the olive trunk shaker is influenced by shaking displacement, fruit detachment force, fruit mass, stem length, damping ratio, unbalanced mass of the tree shaker, and exciting shaking frequency. The Olive trunk shaker was tested in the field at five attachment heights, 400, 500, 600, 700, and 800 mm, and six levels of olive trunk diameter: 78, 84, 101, 143, 158, and 186 mm.