F
f
rui t Tree
h
arvest ing
F
T
he
frui
TG
rower
• JAN
u
A
r
Y2017
of 75 and 90cm. This allows tractors todrive down the 90cm
spaces. The average row spacing across a field is 82.5cm,
and there is not a lot they can do to change this.
h
owever, it
is possible to vary tree spacingwithin the row, and this is
somethingYannick is looking at. Depending on the crop and
variety, young trees are currently planted at distances from
32cm to 37cm in the row, but new technologymay allow
trees tobe planted closer together on the best land and
further apart in less fertile or shaded areas. “
w
e are keen to
discover whether some varietiesmay performbetter on
certain fields, or at a narrower or wider spacing,” says
Yannick. “
w
e need to knowmore about our land.”
TheSteyr 6185 tractor is also fittedwith a system that
monitors awide range of tractor parameters.
f
leuren has
joined forceswithDutch firms Van deBorne andDeBeijer
Automotive, inwhat is known as theSentrac precision
farmingproject. Linked toGPS, an electronics box in the
tractor cab currently records
i
S
o
bus information from two
sensors – the tractor’s forward speed and engine revolutions.
Providing it works, then the next stage is to add sensors to
record traction andwheel slip.
Yannick is convinced that the technique offers real
possibilities to learnmore about the soil. “
f
or example, the
systemwill precisely record areas of a fieldwhere the tractor
has struggled topull a plough. This paves theway for
subsoiling these areaswithout having todo the complete
field.”
At the company’s cold storage facilities at
h
elden the first
crates trucked in from the field inGermanywere being
stacked.
f
leuren accountmanager Giel Janssen says that
the twobuildings provide 18,500 cubicmetres of cold
storage space. “This is sufficient for 800,000 trees,” he adds.
By the end of the harvesting season the twobuildingswill be
crammed to the ceilingwith pallets. Kept at a constant 1.5C,
amisting system ensures that they do not dry out.
i
n another building, staff were grading the 10per cent of
material that did notmake the highest quality grade, either
because it was too short or did not contain the required
number of branches. Soon new technologies could help
them to increase the number of trees containing six
branches, as the company strives to take fruit tree quality to
new levels.
f
inally, this season’s harvesting campaign got off to a
dream start with sunny anddry conditions. Starting on 20
o
ctober, working five days per week, it took the four
harvesting teams threemonths to complete the job, which
was finished just in time for Christmas.
Steyr tractors
Apart from a singleCase
ih
JX
u
105, all the tractors in
the nine-strong fleet were built inAustria by Steyr. The
oldest, a two-wheel-drive 8080, dates from 1980. Bought
second-hand, today its clock has exceeded 20,000 hours.
During the summer, this tractor still spendsmany hours
powering the irrigator. The others include a four-wheel-drive
8080, a two-wheel-drive 8090, a four-wheel-drive 8090, a
4130Multi, a 4130Profi and a 6150. The newest andmost
powerful tractor in the fleet is a 6185.
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