The VORTEX leaf-remover runs with pressurised air from a compressor. The leaves around the apples are removed by the air flowing through the rotors (4 rotating discs) at low-pressure to ensure apples are not damaged.
The main operation is carried out 15-20 days before harvesting.
Such measures improve the apples’ redness thus increasing commercial value. Up until now, removing leaves manually was the only available technique, and a labour-intensive and costly one for that matter! With VORTEX, this task now becomes MECHANICAL to significantly cut production costs.
There is also a possibility for a second operation during the flowering period as a light thinning.