EEUU: It’s going to be a harvest with plenty of clods…

Will harvests of potato and onion reflect this? The chances of that seem high, so what can you do to keep clods out of your storage?

The structure of the soil was certainly poor this year, thanks to a wet winter and early spring, followed by extremely drying weather conditions. Many parcels had to be irrigated prior to sowing and planting. Terms such as ’a load of shingle’, ’war on clay’ and ’clods as hard as concrete’ were heard daily and suppliers of diesel oil and power-harrow tines benefited from rocketing sales figures.

The major question now is whether the poor soil structure will again cause problems during harvesting. Have the clods weathered sufficiently in the last few months, or will they still have a major impact on potato quality?

Clods increase storage loss

It is essential that clods are not taken into the storage facility together with the potatoes or onions if optimal storage is to be achieved. This is because clods may cause damage to the product, which will create unwanted dehydration. This in turn leads directly to storage loss.

Using sensors, the Samro detects stones and clods and removes them automatically from the product flow. The Samro can be deployed as a stand-alone unit or as part of a processing line.

Would you like to hire a clod separator?

If you would like to know more about the use of the Samro, please contact one of our storage advisors.

SourceTolsma-Grisnich Group