LICORICE BRUSHWOOD HARVESTING METHOD AND APPARATUS Russian patent published in 1998 - IPC

FIELD: agriculture, in particular, extraction of roots in licorice brushwood. SUBSTANCE: method involves cutting soil surface layer containing root necks; determining outer boundary contours of licorice brushwoods and dividing brushwoods into groups by age factor, with age intervals in different groups being 3-4 years and motion being conducted from outer to inner boundaries; determining centers of mother roots and on the basis of these centers hanging two lines symmetrically offset from centers of brushwoods; cutting vertical narrow slits coinciding with these lines, with slit width not exceeding 2 cm and depth being within the range of 60-70 cm; decreasing slit space in younger groups from 2 m to 1.4 m; undercutting and extracting roots and rootstocks two years later. Apparatus has frame 14 carrying hitching device, carrier wheels 16 and tine-knife 17. Frame 14 has additional beams 22 and 23 mounted within frame opening for displacement along its axis and brackets 21,24,25 for mounting tines-knives 17, with one tine-knife extending along mid portion of frame 14 and two other knives positioned at ends of additional beams 22 and 23. Each tine-knife is made flat, with concave-curved cutting edge on front part and extendable chisel on lower end. EFFECT: increased productivity of natural brushwoods, reduced cost, provision for obtaining high-quality roots and erosion protection of soil. 3 cl, 3 dwg