Two-row, direct loading potato harvesters have carved themselves a popular niche in the UK, Holland and France. But these harvesters have several potential drawbacks, the most obvious being the reliance on a trailer. This can make opening up a field and coping with short work difficult, as well as cause delays waiting for trailers. The Kverneland Non-Stop system claims to get around both these difficulties. To see how, we tested two Kverneland harvesters, the UN 2200 and UN 2400
Potato growers all know the harvesting conundrum all too well. Relying on a steady supply of trailers to take the crop off a direct loading harvester can lead to big logistical headaches. But the alternative, a bunker machine, is not that attractive either.
A two-row bunker machine will typically weigh in at 6,500kg to 7,000kg empty, its payload of 4,000kg to 4,500kg producing an all-up weight of 11t. In adverse conditions this can be just too much. Moreover, a bunker’s capacity may not be sufficient for long field runs either, so you still have to wait for a trailer. Direct loading potato harvesters are lighter than bunker designs, but because they can only work with a trailer alongside they can obviously be held up if a trailer is delayed. They also face difficulties at headlands, when opening up a field and doing short work. It is just these points that Kverneland has sought to overcome with its Non-Stop harvesting system. Offered on both the UN 2200 and UN 2400 harvesters, the Non-Stop system is actually simple both in terms of its design and in-field application. But the difference it can make is a real eye-opener.
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