IN the pitch black of a Katherine mango orchard, the mobile picking units are lit up like a small oil rig in a sea of dark.
The orange army of workers scramble and dash to the trees on either side of the machine, plucking fruit and delivering it to the ever-moving conveyor belt to be washed. The sun is yet to rise and the busy team of young, mostly foreign workers, is making the most of the hours before dawn.
In the sapping and searing heat that comes with Northern Territory farming, it makes sense to pick in the early hours' cool air.
This season is the first time Pinata Farms has picked mangoes in the dark. The fruit being selected is the precious Honey Gold, a variety whose breeding rights remain exclusively with Pinata Farms. The trees are some of the first in the country to bear the fruit. The family-owned company will continue its supply throughout the summer by utilising its other farms and growers based in Giru, Bowen, Dimbulah, Mutchilba, Rockhampton, Yarwun, Benaraby, Bundaberg, Wamuran and Gatton.
Later season fruit will come from orchards in Byron Bay and Coffs Harbour in NSW, Robinvale and Mildura in Victoria, and Kununurra and Carnarvon in Western Australia.
This summer's crop is expected to be a record-breaker so time is of the essence.
At the Katherine property, the Honey Gold mango orchards are spread over a vast 80 hectares on two properties. The property being picked sits on top of a large sand dune. There are about 25,000 trees growing in the red, sandy soil which fruit for a two-week period from mid-November.
The NT wet season spans November to April and is characterised by intense humidity followed by tropical downpours.
Temperatures typically range from a minimum of 25C to a maximum of 42C with humidity levels of more than 80 per cent. Three bores draw water from the aquifer and the Katherine River.
The machines assisting the pickers are custom built, based on a design largely thought up by Pinata Farms managing director Gavin Scurr, Wamuran, Queensland. The rig consists of a central frame mounted on four low-profile wheels with a canopy over the top covering a conveyor line.
On either side are two smaller conveyor belts fitted with overhead spray jets that begin the cleaning process. The mangoes move along the belts towards the front of the machine, where they converge into a bath before riding up a roller line within the centre and are deposited into a large crate at the rear.
When full the crate is removed to be picked up by the fork-mounted tractor and taken back to the shed for transportation. Empty crates are hosed and brushed before being attached to the machine to be filled.
A series of ultrabright lights mounted on the canopy cast light into the surrounding trees. Some pickers say the mangoes stand out more when the artificial light is shining through the trees.
As the sun rises, the workers continue their pace, stopping only to replace a crate or move the machine into the next row. The tree canopies have been kept low to allow for easy picker access.
In another part of the farm, workers pick the Kensington Pride variety, assisted with a taller machine and pruning poles.
It takes only three weeks from the onset of flowers to the first appearance of fruit because of the heat. About 90 days on from flowering, the fruit will be picked.
Comparatively, it will be closer to 200 days for the Wamuran fruit to go through the same process.
The very heat that propels growth is also one of the biggest challenges. Suited up in their long sleeves and trousers to protect against sap burn, it's not just the workers who battle the heat. Fruit must be picked and kept cool, ready for its long haul to the various markets around the country.
It will take some fruit five days before it reaches Perth.
