AVR has announced a new camera system for its Puma 4.0 potato harvesters which will measure potato size for greater insight into yields.
“For years, various yield measuring systems have been available for potato harvesters. One of the disadvantages of these systems is that they are nothing more than weighing cells relaying a certain value. The system cannot distinguish between potatoes and soil clods or stones,” says Pieter Galle, product manager at AVR.
“The size measuring system based on camera data first recognises the potatoes in the product stream and then measures them. As a result, the displayed data is 100% relevant.”
As size is a vital metric in determining the market for potatoes, the company states that the new system will help growers see what percentage of the crop has the desired size. Furthermore, it can help with future agronomic decisions.
It will also provide clarity throughout the supply chain, without relying on spot checks.
The system uses cameras mounted on the bunker filling web. Images are then processed through AVR Connect and displayed to the operator in one of two ways.
Size information can be displayed as geospatial or matrix data. The former gives an overview of potato size in each zone of the field, while the latter gives length and width data as a percentage for the total harvested quantity.
