Automated Container-Handling System for Container Production Nurseries

Production of nursery crops in the US is accomplished in containerand field-growing conditions, with propagation and seedling-rearing carried out in greenhouses. Container-grown crops represent 60% of the US market and represent a highly labor-intensive and thus costly segment of ornamental crop production. The USDA, NASA and the ANLA have collaborated to develop an automated in-field container-handling system for reducing dependence on foreign labor while also increasing productivity. A first-generation system was developed at CMU, capable of automatically lifting and conveying plants from the ground (in a variety of regular patterns) onto trailers, and vice-versa. The system is capable of handling a vast array of container-designs from different manufacturers, and spans the size-range from #1 to #5 (approximate equivalence to gallons). The system is designed to handle 45,000 containers per 8-hour day with one to two operators. Testing currently underway indicates that the system approach is valid, with the next incarnation requiring reduction in size and weight, as well as reduction in manufacturing costs; a new design is currently underway, with as-built designs and experimental results for the first prototype’s performance presented herein.