Optimizing tactical harvest planning for multiple fruit orchards using a metaheuristic modeling approach

•Large fruit export companies manage multiple orchards that share resources.•A MILP model for supporting harvest decisions of large export companies is proposed.•A GRASP metaheuristic method is developed for solving the proposed MILP model.•The solution methods are compared using a real case.•The GRASP metaheuristic provides managerial advantages to orchard managers.