Towards Sustainable Grape Harvesting: A Review of End-Use-Specific Mechanisation, Quality Loss Reduction, and Digital Intelligence

Abstract

Grapes intended for fresh consumption, winemaking, raisin production and processing differ markedly in quality requirements and tolerance to harvest damage, making a universally suitable mechanised harvesting pathway unlikely. This review synthesises low-damage grape harvesting from an end use-oriented sustainability perspective. A structured literature search and thematic narrative synthesis covered studies mainly published from January 2000 to May 2026, with 184 studies included. The evidence indicates that harvesting suitability is determined by the compatibility among end use, grape and bunch traits, vineyard architecture, damage tolerance, labour and operating constraints, and downstream requirements. Manual and assisted harvesting remain preferable where selective whole-bunch handling and marketability dominate; vibration-based bulk harvesting provides greater capacity for wine and processing grapes in compatible vineyards; dry-on-vine (DOV) collection is closely coupled with raisin-specific drying systems; and selective robotic harvesting remains promising but requires stronger commercial vineyard validation. Across these pathways, higher automation does not inherently provide greater sustainability because reductions in labour demand may be offset by quality loss, capital and energy requirements, or insufficient system utilisation. The principal contribution of this review is an end use-specific framework linking vineyard design, harvesting pathway, damage and loss mechanisms, and environmental, economic and social sustainability considerations. Because experimental conditions, damage definitions and reporting metrics remain heterogeneous, the available literature supports context-dependent qualitative comparison rather than a unified quantitative sustainability ranking.