How to specify orchard pruning and harvest gloves by task, thorn risk, coating, cuff, EN 388 level, packing, AQL inspection and realistic China OEM lead time.
Separate pruning gloves from harvest gloves first
Do not brief one orchard glove for every job unless you accept a compromise. Winter pruning with secateurs, saws, trellis wire and dry branches needs abrasion life, puncture resistance and wrist or forearm coverage. Picking apples, citrus, grapes or berries needs fingertip feel, low lint, clean grip and less fruit bruising. For most agricultural distributors we split the range into at least 2 SKUs: a heavier pruning glove and a lighter harvest glove. For pruning, practical bases include 0.7 to 0.9 mm goatskin, 1.1 to 1.3 mm cow split, microfibre synthetic leather with patches, or a 13 gauge HPPE polyester glass fibre blend with nitrile or latex palm coating. For harvest, we usually start with 13 gauge or 15 gauge nylon spandex, polyester spandex, PU palm coating, micro-foam nitrile, sandy nitrile, latex crinkle, or PVC dots on cotton polyester. A 10 gauge brushed acrylic liner can be comfortable for February pruning in northern Europe, but it is normally too warm for April thinning or grape work. EN 388:2016+A1:2018 is the normal European reference for mechanical risk. A pruning glove may reasonably target abrasion 3 or 4, tear 3 or 4 and puncture 2 or 3. The ISO 13997 cut letter, A to F, depends on yarn and reinforcement, not sales wording. Harvest gloves often sit lower on puncture but give better dexterity under EN ISO 21420 fit and finger movement checks. Write the crop, task and risk into the tech pack before chasing the highest pictogram.
Materials that actually survive branches, thorns and sap
Leather still works for dry branch and wire work. Goatskin gives better finger feel than cow split and is common for secateur users who need grip on small handles. Cow split is tougher and cheaper, but it is stiffer and can feel clumsy on fine pruning. Microfibre synthetic leather looks cleaner in retail packs and is more uniform in colour, but it needs thumb crotch and fingertip reinforcement if workers handle trellis wire, rough bark or pruning saws. For knit-coated orchard gloves, the liner is not a small detail. A 15 gauge nylon spandex liner gives close fit and lower fingertip bulk for picking. A 13 gauge polyester nylon liner is cheaper but usually less elastic. A 13 gauge HPPE blend can improve cut performance, but glass fibre can feel harsh if the yarn cover is poor. No normal 13 gauge glove is truly thorn proof. For citrus, blackberry or roses, protection comes from coating thickness, reinforcement and cuff length, not from calling the glove anti-thorn. Coating choice should match sap and weather. Latex crinkle gives strong dry grip and cushioning, but it can hold dirt and is not ideal around oily citrus peel. Sandy nitrile handles sap, light oil and damp stems better than PU. Micro-foam nitrile breathes better than full nitrile but gives less liquid barrier. PU is thin and tidy for inspection work, but sharp stems and rough crates wear it quickly. A 7 cm knitted wrist is fine for bin picking. Pruning in citrus, roses or blackberry often needs a 12 to 15 cm safety cuff or gauntlet cuff. We do not make certified chainsaw gloves or ASTM F2878 hypodermic needle puncture gloves in our orchard range.
Fit, dexterity and fruit damage are production issues
Harvest gloves fail when workers remove them after the first 10 minutes. The usual causes are bulky fingertips, poor size grading, sweaty liners or a coating that grips fruit too aggressively. For apples and pears, 15 gauge nylon spandex with thin PU or micro-foam nitrile keeps fingertip diameter lower than a 10 gauge liner. For citrus, sandy nitrile or latex crinkle is often more practical because peel oil, thorns and wet leaves matter more than a showroom-clean palm. Size grading must be agreed before bulk knitting or cutting. A basic adult range is S to XXL, but agricultural buyers rarely need an even split. On a 10,000 pair order, a common starting ratio is 10 percent S, 30 percent M, 35 percent L, 20 percent XL and 5 percent XXL. If the workforce includes many women pickers, we can adjust palm width and finger length on a sewn or custom knit style. We do not recommend simply relabelling a small men size as a women fit. Fruit damage is not only about softness. Raised PVC dots can leave pressure marks on peaches, pears or thin-skinned apples if the dot height is too high or the dot pitch is too dense. Latex crinkle can trap soil, leaf fragments and dried sap. White PU looks clean for quality-control visitors, but it stains quickly in grape, cherry and citrus work. Before a repeatable orchard gloves sourcing programme, we prefer a field trial of 20 to 50 pairs for at least one full picking shift, with comments on grip, bruising, sweat and fingertip wear.
Construction details buyers should put in the tech pack
A useful tech pack names the shell yarn, gauge, coating, coverage, cuff, reinforcement, size range, packing and test request. A clear harvest specification would be: 15 gauge nylon spandex liner, black micro-foam nitrile palm and fingertips, breathable back, 7 cm elastic knitted wrist, EN 388 and EN ISO 21420 test requested, 12 pairs per inner polybag, 120 pairs per export carton. That is much better than asking for a breathable farm glove with good grip. For pruning gloves, define palm material thickness, back material, cuff length, thumb design, seam position and thread. A goatskin palm at 0.8 mm with polyester spandex back gives better movement than full split leather. A keystone thumb improves movement on leather gloves compared with a flat wing thumb. A reinforced thumb crotch is important because it rubs against secateurs, loppers and saw handles. Aramid thread can help on high-abrasion reinforcement seams, but using it on every seam adds cost without always improving field life. Decoration should be chosen for farm use, not catalogue photos. Heat transfer works on smooth synthetic backs, woven labels work on cuffs, and one-colour silk print can work on selected leather or fabric panels. Printing directly onto heavy latex crinkle or sandy nitrile palms is not stable. Private label packing can be header cards, belly bands, OPP bags, 12-pair polybags or retail hang tags. Cartons should show style number, size, quantity, gross weight, net weight, carton number and country of origin.
Testing, sampling and quality control before shipment
If the glove is sold into EU or UK safety channels as PPE, confirm Category II status under Regulation EU 2016/425 before mass production. EN ISO 21420 covers general glove requirements such as sizing, dexterity, pH and innocuousness. EN 388:2016+A1:2018 covers abrasion, blade cut, tear, puncture and optional impact. A good-looking factory sample is not the same as certified PPE. We can prepare samples and keep bulk production consistent, but notified body certification and official reports must come from recognised laboratories. Sampling time depends on construction. Knit-coated harvest gloves using existing yarn, dip colour and cuff colour normally take 7 to 12 days. A new sewn pruning glove pattern usually takes 10 to 18 days because the cutting pattern, reinforcement shape, cuff length and size grading must be adjusted. Bulk lead time is commonly 4 to 7 weeks after sample approval and deposit. Add time for EN 388 testing, retail artwork approval, barcode labels or peak-season coating line space. For shipment inspection, we usually recommend AQL 2.5 for major defects and AQL 4.0 for minor defects unless the buyer has a stricter manual. Major defects include open seams, wrong size marks, incorrect coating coverage, mismatched left and right hands, exposed sharp thread ends, dirty retail packing and wrong carton labels. Coated gloves need checks for palm coverage symmetry, coating penetration, cuff elasticity and size length. Leather gloves need agreed tolerance for thickness, scars and shade because natural hides are never as uniform as PU film.
MOQ, pricing and shipment realities for orchard programmes
MOQ depends on how much is customised. Standard knit-coated harvest gloves using existing liner colour and coating colour can often start around 1,200 to 3,000 pairs per style with mixed sizes. Custom yarn colour, custom cuff colour or special coating colour commonly pushes practical MOQ to 5,000 pairs or more because dyeing and coating line setup are not economical at very small volume. Sewn leather pruning gloves may be workable from 1,000 to 2,000 pairs per style if the leather and cuff materials are common. Special leather colour, moulded patches or retail clamshell packing increase both MOQ and lead time. Pricing moves with material, reinforcement and certification scope. A simple 13 gauge PU harvest glove is in a different cost class from a goatskin pruning glove with 15 cm cuff, thumb crotch patch and aramid seam. HPPE blends, nitrile double dips, long cuffs, hang tags, EAN barcode stickers, individual OPP bags, EN 388 testing and third-party inspection all affect the landed cost. We quote clearly, but buyers should specify whether testing, artwork, inner bags and pre-shipment inspection are included or separate. Common Incoterms are FOB Ningbo, FOB Shanghai and EXW Yiwu when the buyer forwarder collects locally. CIF can be arranged through a forwarder, but we prefer buyers compare freight separately because sea rates change. A standard coated harvest glove carton may hold 120 or 240 pairs. Bulky gauntlet pruning gloves may fit only 60 or 120 pairs per carton. Container planning should use actual carton dimensions and gross weight, not pair count guesses. For mixed orchard SKUs, the packing list should show style, size, carton number and quantity so the distributor can allocate stock without opening every carton.
Need Physical Samples?
For verified B2B buyers we ship 1-2 reference samples free (you cover the courier - ~USD 35 to most countries). Custom mock-ups with your logo run USD 60-120 depending on decoration, refunded against your first PO.
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