In-transit vibration damage to olive fruit

The in-transit vibrations caused by uneven roads have a significant effect on mechanical damage of agricultural products. Olive (Olea europaea L.) fruit is one of the sensitive fruits to mechanical bruising. In this study, the effects of frequency and acceleration of simulated in-transit-vibration using a vibrating table were investigated on mechanical damage of two olive cultivars. The experiments were conducted using a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with 3 replications. The factors included vibration accelerations (0.3g, 0.5g and 0.7g), vibration frequencies (5, 7.5 and 10 Hz) and cultivars (Conservolea and Roghani). The effects of frequency and acceleration on the mechanical damage of olive fruit were significant at probability level of 1%. Increasing vibration frequency and acceleration led to first increase and then decrease in mechanical damage. The effect of cultivar on mechanical damage was not significant. The frequency of 7.5 Hz had the most mechanical damage for both cultivars; therefore, it should be controlled during transportation. The combination of 7.5 Hz and 0.5g for Roghani and 7.5 Hz and 0.7g for Conservolea caused the most mechanical damage to the fruit.