Growing potatoes involves many technological procedures. While the majority focuses on soil cultivation and high-quality fertilizer, only a few pay tribute to the timely removal of tops. The article describes in detail how and why to remove the tops from the potato stands using a walk-behind tractor and other devices.
Expediency, terms of mowing potato tops
Watching potatoes, almost every gardener dreamed that his tops would develop no less actively than tubers. In the phase of active growth, the aerial part is gaining a huge mass, comparable to the yield of an average bush. It is no secret that its development can affect the quality of tubers.
Important! The exact time for harvesting the aerial mass of potatoes can be precisely determined thanks to a simple rule: “Bushes should be mowed after 60–70% of the plants have turned yellow.”
Harvest, first of all, depends on the ability of the aerial parts to produce complex biochemical processes that provide tubers with substances necessary for growth. Here, photosynthesis takes place - the main metabolic process responsible for the synthesis and accumulation of nutrients in the plant tissues, so the presence of a large and juicy green mass always guarantees the growth of excellent tubers.
However, the mowing of greens even before harvesting is not only recommended, but also quite appropriate action. In the hot southern climate, weather conditions allow the plant to completely go through all seasonal physiological processes and enter the resting phase before wintering.
But in the temperate and northern zones, unfavorable conditions for the crop often occur even before the crop ripens properly, so potatoes can use the substances stored in the tubers to nourish the green mass and extend the lifespan of the aerial part of the bush. In addition, stem mowing, regardless of the climatic characteristics of the growing region, has a number of other positive consequences.
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The main rule for efficient harvesting of tops is to choose the optimal period for the procedure. It occurs approximately 1-3 weeks before the complete drying of the aerial mass.
For early and mid-ripening varieties, it is observed approximately 30–35 days after the end of flowering. Late-ripe species should be disposed of from bushes 15–20 days before the onset of steady autumn cooling. If tubers are harvested as seed material, the tops can be mowed much earlier, already on the 20th – 25th day after flowering is completed.
Motoblock mowing technology
There are two fundamentally different methods for eliminating potato greens - chemical and mechanical. In the first case, the process is carried out by spraying the beds with a special tool, the so-called topper, under the influence of which the green mass withers and dies. 
However, mechanical is considered more environmentally friendly and safe, which prevents the accumulation of harmful toxins in the soil, and also makes it possible to use mowed greens in the future.
Potato chopper
The chopper, or the so-called chipper, is a stationary unit for processing gardening waste. It is a complex of an intake nozzle for waste and a special knife system of a disk or milling type.
Did you know? The first motoblocks appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century, at the dawn of agricultural automation. One of the first patents for such a device was issued back in 1912 by the Swiss Conrad Meyenburg.
In motion, the installation is started using a belt drive, which is installed on the motor block engine. When feeding waste, the knives capture plant residues and grind them into small pieces, up to 5 cm long, and then take them out through a special channel.
Thus, the chopper is a kind of conveyor, in the process of passing through which the processing of vegetable waste takes place. The productivity and power of the unit is quite high, so it can successfully process plant waste with a diameter of up to 7 cm and easily process up to 10 liters per second.
The tops are loaded manually, which is the main minus of the installation. Mowing must be carried out independently or using other devices, so the chipper is often used as an addition.
Walk-behind mower
The mower is considered one of the most technically advanced aggregates for removing tops from beds. It is a mounted unit with several rotor disks. Each of the disks has several rotating knives that reach speeds of up to 3000 rpm. This makes it possible to cut off almost any fruit crops up to small trees and shrubs.
The mower is installed in front of the walk-behind tractor and driven by connecting the belt system to the pulley. During the movement of the equipment, the mower eliminates all the aboveground vegetation, after which it can be collected for further processing with a rake. The efficiency of the mower is quite high, since in one pass it is able to capture about 90 cm of the territory of the beds.
Video: mower for potato tops
Trimmer
The trimmer can be called one of the varieties of mowers. Outwardly and technically, it is almost identical to it, but the trimmer also has cardinal differences. Instead of several rotary disks, only one is installed in it. It has a special reel with a tight fishing line tucked under tension.
During the rotation of the disk under the influence of inertial forces, the coil opens, and a fishing line appears from its two opposite holes.
Rotating at a speed of about 3000 rpm./min, as the walk-behind tractor walks along the beds, the fishing line cuts almost any grassy vegetation like a knife, after which it can be harvested with mechanical or manual rakes. In addition to lower cost, the trimmer has a lot of other advantages.
First of all, the device can adjust the stroke width, which makes it possible to cover the maximum usable space. In addition, stones and other dense debris are not afraid of such a scythe, while for a mower this can threaten serious damage.
Mulcher
Mulcher is an attachment for walk-behind tractors and other units, designed for mowing, grinding and even distribution over the site of the remains of stem plants. The device is a steel frame with rotating knives fixed on it.
Depending on the design and type, they can be from 10 to 30 pcs., Which provides a working surface up to 1 m long. From above, the knives are closed with a metal casing preventing the leaves from spreading on the sides.
The start-up of the installation takes place using a belt system connected to a motor-block pulley. During the installation, the knives grind the vegetation to the smallest residues (up to 5 cm long), which are evenly distributed along the working stroke of the machine.
Mulcher is an ideal solution for large farms that adhere to the crop rotation system, since shredded tops become one of the sources of enrichment of the site necessary for organic productivity important for productivity.
The technology of harvesting potato tops with other types of garden equipment
Cleaning beds from potato bushes can be successfully carried out by other technical devices. Often the cheapest option for this is considered to be all kinds of models of gasoline and motokos used for mowing the garden. Next, their main features and distinguishing features will be considered.
Benzokosa
Benzokosa called a manual tool for mowing grass and other plant debris. It consists of a gasoline engine, to which a metal rod with a transmission shaft is attached. At the edge of the rod is a rotary rotor with a coil. It is seasoned with fishing line, which, under the influence of inertial force, leaves the coil.
Mowing is carried out according to the same principle as when using a trimmer for a walk-behind tractor. The fishing line cuts the plant at high speed and throws it to the site. The control of the rotating coil is carried out manually, by the type of mowing with a steel scythe. In this case, the main force is directed only to the rotation and inclination of the rotating mechanism from side to side.
This method of mowing allows you to manually determine the height of the tops, as well as eliminate weeds and other vegetation in hard to reach places. At the same time, the brushcutter is not afraid of stones and other obstacles, since the fishing line is a cheap consumable. As in the case of other mowers, at the end of the procedure, the cut greens are removed using a rake manually or using automatic installations.
Did you know? Trimmer trimmers were invented in 1971 by American George Bollas. The idea of creating a tool arose after the inventor visited a car wash and saw the work of rotating heads, he decided to lay this principle for automation of grass mowing.
Motokosa
Motokosa is structurally one of the varieties of benzokosa, however, it differs by a cutting element. Instead of a reel with fishing line in such units, a rounded metal disk with sharp incisors or spikes is installed.
Mowing the scythe is carried out according to the same principle as the scythe, while the device is considered more efficient. The dense metal disk has an increased striking power, which makes it possible to eliminate not only potato bushes, but also small bushes or trees.
Important! Regardless of the type of installation, mowing must be carried out in a protective mask or glasses. Otherwise, there is a high probability of injury and damage to the organs of vision.
Homemade topper
Homemade field equipment is not uncommon today. Many farmers often improve existing equipment, which transforms it beyond recognition. This made it possible to create a lot of mowing devices, some of which can be assembled by almost every of the old spare parts and improvised materials.
The most popular of them is a small unit for a walk-behind tractor in the form of a mechanical gearbox (1/5) with a disk attached to the end with 3-5 chains 10-30 cm long. The gearbox provides rotation from the MTZ steering tractor with an adapter that allows you to connect the device directly to the rotating block of the motor-block engine. The whole structure is mounted on a solid frame made of metal corners or a profile pipe.
Video: DIY topper
Mow with such a setup, go as a trimmer The shaft rotates the gearbox with the disk and the chains fixed on it, as the walk-behind tractor passes over the beds of the chain, they knock down potato bushes. Depending on the length of the chains, such an installation can cover from 1 to 3 beds, which provides it with high efficiency and efficiency.
Further beneficial uses of cut potato tops in the garden
After the tops have been removed, do not rush to burn or dispose of them. Potato bushes can be a great helper in the garden. Most often they are crushed, dried and used as a basis for mulching raspberries, gooseberries, currants and other fruit shrubs. Shredded plants are also used as fertilizer to increase the amount of organic compounds in the soil.
Part of the tops can be left until the next season and used to create a natural remedy against ticks and aphids. To do this, 1.5 kg of chopped potato bushes should be infused in 10 liters of boiling water for 60 minutes. Before spraying, the liquid is filtered, and then 30 g of laundry soap is added to it.
Important! Only healthy leaves are suitable for reuse, without any signs of pest and disease damage. The remaining plants should be removed from the site and burned.
Timely harvesting of potato tops is one of the simplest measures to increase crop productivity. The procedure protects the tubers from re-landscaping of the bushes, which is quite common with an abundance of autumn rainfall. For mowing, there are many technical devices and devices, of which mowers for walk-behind tractors are considered the most effective. They not only quickly, but also with the highest quality, clean the beds.
