Crop Estimating Calculator

 

The purpose of this calculator is to provide a grower with the means to estimate the crop on the trees and further real-time reevaluation throughout the season. Updating the inputted data will help validate the projections made early in the season, and help build confidence in the estimating capability of the estimator. This information could also serve as the input channel for an industry-wide database to estimate the crop volume.

 

The calculator is an input screen with the option of using English or Metric units.  Data detailing one or more blocks are inputted and production estimates are entered and summarized by variety for the entire orchard. 

 

A block is a unit area. It could be the entire grove or any part of the grove that the grower identifies as unique. The block is identified by a block number provided by the calculator which could be renamed. Blocks could be added, removed or recalled for review and editing.  A block may contain only a single variety, which the user can select from the variety pull down menu.

 

It is advisable to input the block size in acres/hectares. It is useful to track the production per acre/hectare in the particular block. It is also useful in calculating the number of trees per acre/hectare and per block by filling the tree spacing information.

 

If the tree count for the block is known, then the tree spacing portion could be skipped and only the total tree count will suffice.

 

If significant numbers of pollinizer trees are within the block, better accuracy is achieved by removing the pollinizer trees from the calculation of the production of the dominant variety of the block.

 

There are two input options for pollinizers:

1. The number of pollinizer trees per acre/hectare

2. The percent of pollinizer trees per acre/hectare.

 

 

The calculator is designed to accept input from any one of 4 estimating methods:

  1. Total weight for the entire block. This is the least time consuming and requires a keen eye and knowledge of the grove, to be able to estimate accurately.
  2. Total weight per acre/hectare. This input will provide the information to calculate the production for the entire block. The estimator should have a unique capability observe and come up with an accurate estimate.
  3. Average weight per tree. Pickers usually are good at estimating how many picking-bags-full are on an average tree. The calculator will multiply this average by the total trees in the block.
  4. Fruit count by the standard sizes. The standard sizing are relevant to the type of container the fruit is shipped in 25 lb / 11.34 Kg lug used in the US, 4, 5.5 and 6 Kg tray used in Europe and Asia, respectively. Actual fruit counting is required except for the unexportable sizes and grades in the 4, 5.5 and 6 Kg trays. Here total weight (not fruit numbers) in kilograms of unexportable fruit needs to be inputted to be able to calculate total production of the block. Remember that this is per tree input and could be rather tedious. The level of detail depends on the estimator need for accuracy. Each block estimate is the average of 1 to 25 individual tree samples. The computer calculates the total production for the block by averaging the individual tree samples. It is important to note that when more trees are sampled the accuracy increases.

 

The cumulative total for all the blocks of each variety is presented in the variety summary section.