Grimme unveils six-row trailed beet harvester

RENEWED confidence in sugar beet has seen Grimme launched a six-row trailed harvester.

The Rootster 604 is billed as a viable alternative to a self-propelled machine on farms with a small to medium sugar beet acreage. The harvester is expected to be on display at this year’s Cereals Event.

Based on technology taken from the potato industry, the machine boasts a simple design, an output double that of a three row trailed harvester and a price tag of between £120-£130,000.

The Rootster’s hydraulic drive is infinitely variable enabling “just-in-time” lifting in virtually any working conditions. In dry conditions, forward speed is about 7km/hr, compared to a respectable 6km/hr in the wet.

A flail topper forces the green leaves via steel deflector sheets to fall behind scalpers between beet rows. Centrally adjustable pressure scalpers are guided by parallelograms while thickness is automatically adjusted.

Hydraulic powered Oppel lifting wheels ensure entire roots are lifted out of the ground. Six fluted rollers ensure gentle cleaning before a transfer web takes the crop to a second set of fluted contra rotating rollers.

A circular lifting elevator takes the crop into a 4t holding tank. Off-loading is via a final elevator into a trailer to the side. Wide wheels allow late lifting while minimising  compaction.