Cones must be picked by hand or with hand-held clippers. Pruning shears, pole pruners, etc., are not acceptable. Extreme care should be taken by contractor to ensure cone collection crew minimizes limb and branch breakage. Limb and branch breakage severely impacts the quantity of cones available for the following year’s cone harvest. SCFC personnel shall specify, through maturity checks, when cones may be collected. Cones must be relatively free of trash and straw; cones with significant insect damage shall not be harvested. Sacks shall be provided to the contractor for cone storage . In all loblolly orchards, the selection flagging shall be affixed to the individual sack containing 1.5 buckets (8 gallons) picked cones, with a total of 20 bushels to be placed into cone crates, with the selection flagging affixed to the cone crate.
