Production testing of the new method of mechanical harvesting of cabbage

White cabbage is a traditional vegetable crop in Russia, easily damaged by mechanical influences. In addition, cleaning is accompanied by significant labor and material costs. Taking into account the above-mentioned features, a new method for mechanized harvesting of cabbage was proposed, where cabbage heads are firstly aligned in the row by lifters, then they are forwarded under the clamping belt, where afterwards they are fixed and cut. Cut-off heads are forwarded by outside-mounted and clamping transporters on to a sorting transporter-cutter. On the sorting transporter-cutter, the heads are inspected. Workers pick out cabbage with long cabbage stumps and rosette leaves and insert them into the holes of the plate-shaped army duck transporter-cutter, where they are re-cut when passing through the passive knife. As a result, the rosette leaves are separated from the heads, and the cut-out cabbage stumps slide down the tray to the ground. Further, the heads and loose leaves, separated from the heads after repeated cutting enter the rod elevator, where leaves are again cut off, and the heads are sent for shipment. Unlike the traditional method of harvesting cabbage, head of cabbage are shipped by a cabbage harvesting machine first to a flexible trough floor, mounted on a special rack on the vehicle platform above the removable containers. Then, the heads from the flooring are gently transferred to containers for subsequent storage in them. After filling the containers, the vehicle is sent to a storage facility where, with a forklift truck, the loaded containers are replaced by empty ones, leaving the flexible deck with the platform rack for the next cycle of work. In the harvest season of 2017, the proposed technology for mechanized harvesting of cabbage was tested in the production conditions of LLC «Chapaevskoye» in the Mari El Republic. The conducted production tests confirmed the conformity of the products to the agrotechnical requirements and the possibility of organizing the harvesting process continuously in a sparing mode.