Apparatus for selectively harvesting plant material, particularly the leaves and bud of a plant having a stem, such as a tea plant, is provided. The apparatus includes a conveyor belt (5), plant engaging members (20) movable relative to the conveyor belt (5) to trap the plant matter between the conveyor belt (5) and the plant engaging members (20) at a first level, and a stem engaging member (11) arranged to contact a stem of the plant at a predetermined second level, lower than the first, wherein when the stem of trapped plant material extending above the predetermined second level is broken by the stem engaging member (11) to harvest the trapped plant material. In one embodiment, the stem engaging member is a breaker bar (11). In an alternative embodiment, the stem engaging member is a cable, wire or cord maintained in tension at the predetermined second level.
