The competitiveness of Brazil's citrus sector is a function of quality control in the transformation of fruit into juice. The transformation process commences with the harvest, the timing of which significantly affects fruit quality. In this paper, a mathematical model is formulated that links pertinent chemical, biologic, and logistic restrictions to the quality of the fruit to be harvested, applying linear programming theory. The modelling structure was verified and validated with real data from 320 Brazilian farms involved with an annual production of approximately 7 200 000 boxes of oranges. It could be attested that the maximization of the number of boxes of oranges to be harvested (strategy that is still adopted by a representative number of Brazilian citrus farmers, based on the industry advice) does not necessarily correspond to the maximum quantity of total soluble solids (TSS). In many cases, citrus harvested at the optimum TSS point offered higher concentrated juice productivity. The estimated potential benefits ($) from using the proposed model reached figures over 6%.

Orange harvesting scheduling management: a case study

In this paper is presented a model for determining the optimal policy of felling and planting trees of a particular species in a forest, in order to maximize the present value of the total net profit over a given period of time, under the assumption of a quadratic cost function.

Optimum harvesting policy for an age-structured forest Part 2

In this paper, an attempt has been made to develop a model for determining the optimal policy for felling and planting trees of a particular species in a forest, in order to maximize the total yield over a specified period of time. The model takes into account not only the time at which trees should be felled but also how many trees and of what age.

A. K. Chaudhuri

Papers

Optimum harvesting policy for an age-structured forest

Optimum harvesting policy for an age-structured forest Part 2