Potato Review

40 POTATO REVIEW MAY/JUNE 2020 Machinery Windrower helps with crop quality at harvest A new vegetable windrower, the WV- series, has been launched for potato harvesting. Windrowers are commonly used in a two-phase harvesting process on storable and robust onions. is new windrower from Grimme will be available for the next harvest season with working widths of 1.40m, 1.65m and 1.80m. As crop quality starts with the intake of the crop, the newWV-series is equipped with intake paddles which are particularly gentle to the crop. Paddles are available either as rubber or brush versions. Both versions are exible and can move upwards to reduce the pressure on the crop when crop ow increases. Owing to the shifted arrangement of the intake paddles, the crop is transferred gently onto the rst main web and the intake paddles prevent the crop from rolling back when the machine is lifted. is is to ensure that as much marketable crop as possible is placed in a swath on the surface of the ground. For su cient and gentle sieving, even in di cult harvesting conditions, the rst and second main web can be equipped with either a mechanical or hydraulically driven agitating device. e Boogie-System provides an even and rm surface on the ground so that the harvested crop cannot sink in. is allows the crop to dry better, making it storable and robust, and helps to minimise the amount of soil that has to be taken into the machine in the second phase of the harvest process. e spring-loaded Boogie-System consists of two support wheels and a bed roller. e suspension ensures a constant pressure on the bed roller so that a “bulldozing e ect” of soil in front of the bed roller is prevented. Test track for self-propelled harvesters G rimme customers will be able to test-drive self-propelled harvesters in a safe environment if they’re planning to visit Germany in the future. e company has opened a test track V egetable handling equipment manufacturer, Tong Engineering, has made advancements to its potato and vegetable coil cleaning unit to optimise performance and ease of maintenance. Tong’s range of coil cleaning and pre-grading systems are designed to gentle handling of crop whilst combining soil removal and crop sizing within one unit. Incorporating a heavy duty, scissor-action shaft design, the deformable PU coil shafts feature an easy-maintenance coupling and are fully adjustable to suit a wide range of sizing requirements. With a direct-drivemotor on every shaft, the coil cleaning and sizing unit is easy tomaintain and ensuresmaximumenergy e ciency during operation. Sales Manager Richard Knighton said it removes the need for manual cleaning of coil in the industrial area of “Niedersachsenpark” in Rieste (Germany), which is over 800 metres long and 10 metres wide. Circular tests can be carried out in the asphalt turning area of the test track and endurance tests can be carried out on a 150 metre long bad road section. e test track will be used for intensive training with service technicians and customers to learn how to handle self- propelled harvesters in a safe environment. Next Generation coil cleaner facilitates sizing and cleaning shafts, particularly when operating in heavy- soil conditions “ is means not only a much safer shaft- cleaning technique, but also signi cantly reduces downtime with an automatic self- cleaning process which is performed in a matter of seconds.” e coil cleaner can be built to suit all throughput and sizing requirements, available in four, six and eight row con gurations as standard. Keeping a lid on things Tong also recently announced the launch of a new, all-electric box tipper, the E-TIP, which features an innovatively designed crop-retaining lid. Managing Director at Tong Engineering, Edward Tong, said: “What sets our new E-TIP box tipper apart is the way that the box is cradled throughout the tipping process, with a uniquely designed conveyor-belt lid. is ensures boxes are securely and gently rotated, without any friction or scu ng to crop. e sliding action of the lid ensures gentle transfer of crop from the box to the machine’s forward conveyor, as well as ensuring seamless upward ejection of empty boxes for continuous operation and maximum performance.” e E-TIP box tipper replaces traditional forward pivot-tipping hydraulics with a box- rotating design. e machine requires less forklift movement than traditional box tippers.