| Root Crops
First LightTraxx sugar beet harvester on Chinese soil
The world needs sufficient food,
while at the same time we want to
reduce our ecological footprint.
Therefore Agrifac makes machines
according to the “4 e for growers”
concept. This means efficiency,
economics, ergonomics and
ecology are decisive in everything
we produce. Only this way we are
able to exceed the expectations of
customers with the most innovative
agricultural sprayers and sugar beet
harvesters and keep our innovative
and technological lead.
he first Holmer Exxact
LightTraxx is sold by HOLMER
and produced by Agrifac
Machinery B.V. in the
Netherlands. The machine will
work in the northern part of
Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region in
China, adjacent to Mongolia and Russia in the
north. Here the HOLMER distributor has built a
new sugar factory. The field structure in this
area is middle sized, meaning the plots are
smaller (about 3-5 ha) in comparison to the
central part of Inner Mongolia, where we see
plots between 150 to 200 ha.
For this reason HOLMER/Agrifac have
introduced the LightTraxx, a middle sized,
compact harvester. Until now in the region, one
can count the 2 phase harvesting systems on
one hand. These machines harvest in two
steps, a seperate harvesting and a seperate
T
loading machine. With the LightTraxx we
demonstrate the higher efficiency of this
machine for harvesting in one step. Also the
machine is very easy to access in case of
maintenance, service and cleaning.
All the technique is combined into one light
weight sugar beet harvester, the LightTraxx, still
having equal capacity compared to bigger
machines and prepared to work in both normal
and heavy conditions.
Especially the natural variety is what
impresses in China’s northern province.
Besides grasslands and fertile farmland, Inner
Mongolia is crossed by mountains and
dominated in the north by desert landscapes.
Because of the long winter, the low rainfall in
the summer and the nomadic traditions, more
intensive agriculture has only developed in the
last twenty years. Traditionally, mainly corn,
rape, cereals and sunflowers are cultivated. The
percentage of sugar beet is however growing
every year with about 20%. With the
advantages of the LightTraxx, we can rest
assured that this is the first of many more sugar
beet harvesters traveling from Agrifac
Machi nery B.V. in the Netherlands to the Orient.
Nutritional quality of carrots boosted by
40% with tailored growing conditions
Vegetable growers could increase the nutritional value of their produce by adopting a
tailored nutrient programme, potentially securing new premium markets.
ccording to trials
data, combining
key nutrients and
bio-stimulants
specifically tailored
to each field and
crop can increase the nutritional
value of carrots by 40%, as well as
increasing marketable yields by
18%. This has the potential to
open up new health food markets
at a premium price, further
boosting returns to growers.
Millions of people in the UK are
known to be deficient in important
nutrients, according to Dr Robert
Hancock at the James Hutton
Institute. “As many as 25 million
people are deficient in selenium,
10 million in potassium, eight
million in magnesium and three
million are low in calcium,” he
says. “Produce with higher
nutrients, anti-oxidants, bio-actives
and glucosinolate provides the
option of a healthier lifestyle,
A
without people having to change
their eating habits.”
The OptiYield nutritional
programme was developed by
Emerald Crop Science, with a
sophisticated computer software
system forecasting broad
spectrum soil nutrient availability
against demand in crops.
OptiYield then creates a bespoke
soil and foliar fertiliser programme
for each crop and field. It consists
of 12 different nutrients applied
throughout the crop’s lifecycle,
alongside complementary biostimulants and microbial agents
that significantly enhance growth
and nutrient uptake.
In independent carrot trials the
full programme boosted the
potassium content per carrot by
24%, compared to the best
practice control. Calcium levels
increased by 2.5% and
magnesium content rose by 54%.
Iron, another key nutritional
22 | Farming Monthly | July 2016
deficiency in many people,
increased by 27%. At the same
time, marketable yields jumped by
an average of 18% compared to
the control.
Simon Fox, director at Emerald
Crop Science, says this
demonstrates one of the most
important aspects of the
programme. “We only added a
fraction of these nutrients through
the foliar part of the programme,
but by stimulating the crop at the
right time with the right inputs it
produces a healthy root mass that
pulls all the additional nutrients
from the surrounding soil,” he
says. In the case of magnesium,
only 3kg/ha was added through
the programme but it resulted in
an increase of 41kg/ha of
magnesium in the carrots.
“It is the stimulation to growth
that provides the crop with a
healthier and larger rooting
system, more vigorous
development and better nutrient
circulation within the crop,” adds
Mr Fox. “This in turn stimulates
greater uptake of all nutrients,
including things like selenium, and
we believe boosts the production
of vitamins and polyphenols
(antioxidants).”
Improving the quality of food
has already been a success for PJ
Stirling, which produces high
selenium content brussels sprouts
for Marks & Spencer. These
sprouts sell at a premium to
normal types and are a hit with
customers. As a result Marks &
Spencer has shown interest in
other high nutrient vegetables.
“While other supermarkets have
a price war going on, M&S and
Waitrose side-step this by
targeting measurable quality,”
says Dr Hancock. “As far as
producers are concerned, this is
another way into the market.”
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