What are the long-term effects of tree shakers on yield?
Studies with well-managed trees that were mechanically harvested annually with trunk shakers for 5 consecutive years in the 1960s and 1980s, as well as studies during 5 years in the late 1990s, did not show reduction in fruit yield. Groves with healthy trees harvested commercially in Florida for about 10 years with trunk shakers have not shown any negative effect on yield.
