Quality olive growing, self-propelled Athena
Athena is a self-propelled machine designed by the Modena company Andreoli Engineering for picking olives with non-stop processing along olive rows. The machine’s operating heart is the harvesting chamber, which, equipped with a system of three shakers, provides for the mechanical detachment of the fruit from the plant, while a series of movable bulkheads at the ends of the chamber convey the product onto an initial horizontal conveyor belt. Here the olives are separated from small branches that have remain attached, to then be routed to a second conveyor (vertical) where a leaf removing device completes the product cleaning. Having concluded these operations, the olives are unloaded on a trailer behind the harvester. As explained in a technical note by the manufacturer, the great advantage offered by the mechanized harvesting system created by Andreoli is represented by the possibility of combining production yields (the percentage of fruit detachment is greater than 95%) and working speed (over 2.5 km per hour on plants as tall as 5 metres) while gently processing the product. And it is by virtue of these characteristics - according to a note from the Emilia company - that the self-propelled Athena enables the harvesting of olives when they reach optimum maturity, thus achieving the highest quality oils. As regards the construction characteristics, the self-propelled vehicle of the Andreoli brand has a compact design (for olive groves with reduced inter-row distances); with wide rubber tracks that provide stability even on steep slopes, and rough or very wet terrain; with a hydraulic device to close the harvesting system, thanks to which the user can quickly switch from working setup to road travel configuration. Also worthy of note among Athena’s strengths is the spacious glass-window pressurized cab with two seats (category 4), and the ability to simultaneously operate on both sides of the row (left and right), a configuration that is very advantageous especially in larger cultivations.
