Developed to improve field hygiene and offer a new tool to tackle weed pressure, Zürn Harvesting’s Top Cut Collect weed harvester has been awarded a SIMA Innovation Award in the Agro-Ecological Transition category.
A joint project between German harvest specialists Zürn and French farmer and investor Romain Bouillé, the Top Cut Collect is a single axle, tractor-drawn machine that utilises two booms with double-knife cutter bars which cut any weeds above the crop canopy.
Once the weeds are cut, a helix reel feeds the seed heads to a cross conveyor belt, careful not to spread seeds across the field. The belt then transports the seeds into a central hopper. All the Top Cut Collect functions are hydraulically controlled from the tractor, including boom height, which is maintained by guide wheels.
“We are extremely happy about receiving the prize which is a special success,” said Rolf Zürn. “It reflects on the importance of mechanical weed control and the forward-thinking nature of this technology for all of Europe. The Top Cut Collect is one machine in our new product line that aims at interfacing organic and conventional farming schemes. We term such developments ‘econventional solutions’.”
Launched at the same time as the Top Cut Collect, the company also offers the Seed Terminator which destroys weed seeds inside the combine using multi-stage hammer mills.
More information is available at www.zurnuk.co.uk