I just posted this to a response elsewhere, and thought someone here is more likely to find it useful
I have several tools I use to harvest fruit from trees. The commercial basket on a pole with hook loops works Ok, but frequently the fruit misses the basket and gets bruised. I created my own special tools for Apples, pears, plums, etc.
I found several appropriate types of reasonably stiff thin smooth wall plastic tubing of appropriate sized that the fruit can loosely fit inside the tube. These usually come from the hardware store, like thin wall PVC, or ABS plastic pipe or lightweight drain pipe for larger sizes, and can be found with one end that is enlarged to fit over the smaller end of another, to make long lengths.
I cut one or more notches maybe 1/4" at the picking end of one of the tubes. I can reach up in the tree with this tool, with one hand capping the lower end to carry the weight and the other hand higher on the pipe to guide it, slip the end over a fruit, and push it up and to the side a bit while twisting the pipe until the notch finds the stem and breaks it off. I keep my bottom hand covering the bottom of the pipe to not let air escape. The fruit slides slowly down the pipe because the air ahead of it compresses and slows it. The fruit drops softly into my hand, I put it into my bucket, then go for the next fruit.
Never a bruise.