Harvesting

• The time to harvest the early crop is determined largely by price prospects in the market.
• It is highly desirable to allow the crop to attain as much maturity as possible before harvesting.
• A more matured potato is usually of higher specific gravity or solid content and can be harvested with less skinning and bruising injuries.

Harvesting with one row or two row Diggers

• These are operated with a tractor and the soil along with Potatoes is removed by the apparatus from the field.
• Potatoes are than separated from soil.
• The crop is picked up by hand in bags, crates, barrels or based with manual labour.
• The digger depth point should be set deep enough to avoid cuts and any injury to tuber.
• This means that the point moving forward lifts the potatoes and passes them to the chains in or on a cushion of soil.
• This layer of soil protects the tubers from injury by the chain.

Reducing injury to tubers during harvesting

• Set the digger point deep enough so that soil layer may provide a safety cushion to the Potatoes.
• Maintain ground speed of the digger atleast 1 to 1½ miles per ha.
• Operate digger chain at no more than eight revolution per minute.
• Pad chain links with rubbers.
• Use a minimum of chain agitation increasing it when necessary to adapt to certain soil and digging condition.
• Shield sharp ends of chain links.
• Pad deflectors and sharp points with rubber or belts.
• Keep digger chain sufficiently tight to prevent sagging and whipping.
• Eliminate drops of more than 6 inches.

Functions of Potato Harvester

• Excavation
• Elevation and separation of loose soil.
• Separation of clods or stones larger than the smallest tubers to be recovered.
• Vine elimination including tube stripping if they are immature and cling to the vines.
• Provision for inspection or hand sorting.
• Transfer with bulk body truck or smaller handling container suits as bag, barrels, crate or pallet boxes.