Camellia oleifera fruit picker invented by Central South Forestry University can reach 30 laborers.

　　Camellia oleifera fruit picker invented by Li Lijun team of Central South Forestry University. Photo courtesy of Zhongnan Forest

　　Changsha, December 25th (Reporter Xu Zhixiong correspondent Zou Min Zhou Ying) "Our invention has been recognized as reaching the international advanced level." On 25th, Li Lijun, Dean of School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, proudly said that this newly-developed machine can match the working efficiency of 30 laborers in the past.

　　Tea oil is as famous as olive oil, and is also called "the king of oil", which has unique nutritional value. At the same time, tea oil is also a unique oil species in China, with a history of cultivation and utilization of more than 2,300 years. However, for a long time, because Camellia oleifera grows in the mountains, tea seeds need to be picked completely by hand. "It is difficult to hire people and the labor cost is high" has become a bottleneck that seriously restricts the development of the tea oil industry, and it also directly leads to the continuous rise of tea oil prices, which makes ordinary people discouraged.

　　Camellia oleifera fruit picker being tested. Photo courtesy of Zhongnan Forest

　　Therefore, as early as 2009, the scientific research team of Central South University of Forestry and Science headed by Li Lijun began to study the replacement of manual picking of tea seeds with machines. In the past ten years, they have traveled all over the main tea-oil producing areas in Hunan, fully investigated the planting and picking characteristics of tea-oil trees, and constantly tackled technical problems and improved the prototype of tea-oil tree fruit picker.

　　In view of the characteristics of Camellia oleifera forest, such as complex terrain, random tree shape and synchronous flowers and fruits, Li Lijun team listed four kinds of Camellia oleifera fruit picking methods, made nine rounds of prototypes, broke through seven key technologies, and made a lot of prototype tests, and finally the shaped Camellia oleifera fruit picker came out.

　　"This machine not only has a smart ‘ Picker ’ It can be used for various tree-shaped operations and can walk freely in complex environments such as steep slopes. " Li Lijun said that the most important thing is that it can accurately match the energy, so as to achieve only picking the fruits without damaging the flowers or affecting the yield of tea seeds.

　　Li Lijun said that at the just-concluded evaluation meeting of "Research on Key Techniques and Equipment of Camellia oleifera Fruit Picking" held by Hunan Forestry Society, the Camellia oleifera Fruit Picker of Central South Forestry University was recognized as having solved the problems of efficient picking of Camellia oleifera fruit and less flower loss, and the technology realized independent innovation, the equipment was reliable and practical, and the research results reached the international advanced level. "We plan to use one to two years to promote the beautification, multifunction, intelligence and serialization of Camellia oleifera fruit pickers, and realize mass production to benefit the majority of forest farmers." (End)