How are hazelnuts harvested?
Before hazelnut picking, the following prep work is done; flail or mow the orchard floor low to the ground so that the ripe, fallen nuts can be easily harvested, roll the orchard floor firmly to make it flatter and smoother, allowing the sweeper brushes on the harvester to sweep the hazelnuts off the ground efficiently as it passes.
Hazelnuts need to be harvested prior to the autumn rains. As the nuts ripen, they drop from the tree over the course of approximately six weeks. When the nuts are beginning to drop, the process can be facilitated by gently shaking the tree limbs to loosen the nuts from their perches.
Harvest hazelnuts after they are fully mature and have dropped to the ground. Most growers wait for the nuts to fall, rather than shake them from the tree. First, the nuts are swept into rows, then picked up and separated from the debris. The nuts are then moved to a processing plant where they are cleaned, cured (dehydrated), and stored.
Source: