PHOTO: GARFORD
PHOTO: STAN VERSTEGEN
NEW PRODUCTS ▶▶▶
Asparagus robot harvester
7 more precision farming products and kit upgrades
In our regular new products section, Peter Hill and René Koerhuis uncover 7 technological developments from around the world that can help improve farm productivity.
The world’s first selective asparagus har- vesting robot has been delivered to its new owner, a French asparagus grower. The Sparter was developed and built by Dutch start-up Cerescon in close coopera- tion with asparagus growers. The robot is for sale in a 3-, 2- or 1-row setup with a harvesting capacity of 50, 35 and 17 ha re- spectively. The robot detects underground asparagus, cuts them, shifts the plastic back and repairs the sand bed. This way less damage to the asparagus occurs, re- sulting in a higher yield. In addition, the asparagus does not discolour and flower. Cerescon plans to produce six Sparter ro- bots for the 2019 season. Several growers have applied for a subsidy and some re- quests have already been granted. Ceres- con plans an annual doubling of turnover for the following years, with a maximum production of 65 machines per year. The sale of the Sparters starts in the Nether- lands, Germany and France. Cerescon then expands sales to other European countries.
SUMMARY Company: Cerescon Name: Sparter Type: robotic asparagus harvester Key feature: automatically navigates the field, finds harvestable stems while still under ground, cuts and collects them, restores plastic and sand bed Info:
www.cerescon.com
▶ FUTURE FARMING | 25 May 2018 49
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