2. HARVESTING FUNCTIONS While detachment and removal, control, cleaning and selection, conveying and loading are the required functional operations for a harvester, the order in which these functions are achieved is determined by the requirements of the specific product or commodity (as an example, hand harvesting always begins with selection) (Srivastava et al., 1993). In mechanical harvesting systems, detachment is seldom as selective as desirable, therefore the selection function is achieved after detach- ment, in the form of sorting devices (or even manual sorting in the machine), or else at a later processing (sorting, cleaning, grading and packaging) inside fixed premises. Detachment is the actual separation of the harvested portion of the plant: fruits, buds, tubers, roots, leaves, etc. Catching and control: padding of catching surfaces is required to gain or maintain product control during harvesting operations (Ryall and Lipton, 1972). Good padding materials can absorb the impact energy of the product, thus preventing its absorption and damage to the fruit; these materials have to be easy to keep and to clean, and durable. Selection is the process in which only the ripe, correctly sized or desirable product is obtained from the entire recovered crop material, while the remainders are rejected. Size is often associated with product quality. Harvesting machines are sometimes equipped for size and color grading in the field. Product maturity requires special attention as the main property of the product which decides harvest date, and defines the product susceptibility to damage. Transportation: whenever possible, bulk handling systems are preferred for trans- portation of the product from the field to the grading/marketing station. Bulk handling (trucks or tractor trailers) are used for industry products such as tomatoes, green beans, onions, potatoes, peaches, wine grapes, olives. Standard pallet con- tainers can be handled with standard forklift equipment and are used also for fresh market products like apples, melons, cucumbers, . . . . Delicate fruits like straw- berries need small, market-ready containers; these are also used in appropriate sizes, for example for ripe peaches and apricots. Vegetables like lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, etc. are sometimes wrapped and packed in the field. Today, infield grading and packaging of produce is contemplated as a good solution for reducing costs and quality losses in many fresh-market products (vegetables, fruits, from these espe- cially tropical fruits). Damage is an important consideration (Ryall and Lipton, 1972). Product bruising, cutting, scuffing and direct damage to the remaining plant can be a consequence of mechanical harvest. Damage reduces the value of the commodity in the market; damage to the remaining plant can affect future crops or life of the plant itself (Ruiz- Altisent, 1991). Harvesting functions often interact with each other. For example, if inertial detach- ment is used by interacting with the plant, the separated commodity often has an associated kinetic energy, which aggravates the problem of product control (damages) when compared to other types of detachment and removal procedures (Ryall and Lipton, 1972) (Table 1).