How to make a (mango) fruit picker

How to make a (mango) fruit picker.

Those who have tall mango trees may have gazed longingly at the ripe, succulent fruits on the high branches and are left wondering how you can get at the hard-to-reach  fruits. Climbing the tree is not advisable, as the branches are rather fragile. Perhaps, a better alternative is to use a fruit picker. 

Here is a simple and inexpensive method of making your own fruit picker.

Things you may require

1. A 1.5 liter, plastic bottle 
2. A sharp plant scissor
3. A long, round wood pole
4. A sharp knife or parang/ machete

     
Instructions

1. Get a 1.5 liter plastic bottle and remove the cap. Mark a spot          
    about 20 cms or 8 inches  down from the mouth of the bottle.  
  

2. Using a plant scissor make a hole at the marked spot.    
    ( Try flattening one side of the plastic bottle with your fingers 
       and make a small cut with the pointed end of the scissor).
     

3. Insert the pointed end of the scissor in the hole and cut all 
    round the plastic bottle until you are left with the top portion.
 .

5. Get a round wood pole, about six feet long or longer if required.
    
     Use a sharp knife or parang to shave off one end of the pole until it can fit perfectly into the mouth of the bottle.

6. Insert the shaved end into the mouth of the bottle and ensure it 
    is well secured.

7. Now you have your own fruit picker and ready to pick at the 
    hard-to-reach mangoes.
    Carefully, let the ripe mango slip into the cut end of the bottle 
    and give the pole an upward push. If the mango is ripe, the stalk 
    will snap easily and the fruit will fall right into the bottle.
    

Notes: You can try picking other fruits with the picker.