It's time consuming, but once the tree is established, you don't need to do so much summer pruning. The Y also requires substantial training and supports very early in the life of the tree. Densities are usually very high in this system, which is the one used to grow greenhouse peaches. The free shape trees have the highest yields. High-density fusetto trees also have high early yields, which can decline later in the life of the orchard.
Some growers get around that problem by removing every other tree.
In some orchards, the harvest is done with the aid of motorized platforms. Pickers on either side of the tank-treaded vehicles stand on the platforms, which move up and down. The key, said Dr. Corelli, is to have picking crews of equal speed. Otherwise, down time will result when a picker on one side is too slow and forces the rest of the crew to wait for him to finish. Italian peach packinghouses have state of the art equipment for weighing, sorting and packing.