In-row cultivator
The finger weeder, originally designed for market gardening, is now used in viticulture for mechanical weeding.
It uses rubber fingers to pull up weeds by rotation. The weeder's satellite system is simple, with metal discs and flexible fingers of varying hardness. The attachment system allows precise adjustments for working close to the vines, and the tool is effective on previously worked soils and weeds that are not very developed.
It uses rubber fingers to pull up weeds by rotation. The weeder's satellite system is simple, with metal discs and flexible fingers of varying hardness. The attachment system allows precise adjustments for working close to the vines, and the tool is effective on previously worked soils and weeds that are not very developed.
Work objective
Originally developed to maintain market garden crops, the finger weeder seems to be an interesting tool with its place in the large family of mechanical weeding tools.
The rubber fingers penetrate the soil and pull up weeds using a rotating movement.
Weeder fingers - In-row cultivator
Components of the in-row cultivator
Developed by the German company Kress, finger weeders are making their appearance on the winegrowing scene.The satellite
Satellite for the intercep weeder
The satellite, simple in design, is an assembly of 3 parts.
A metal disc and a ring of 12 metal fingers enclose 20 flexible fingers.
2 diameters are available, minimum 540 mm and maximum 700 mm.
Kress offers 4 different hardnesses of rubber fingers to adapt to different types of soil.
A metal disc and a ring of 12 metal fingers enclose 20 flexible fingers.
2 diameters are available, minimum 540 mm and maximum 700 mm.
Kress offers 4 different hardnesses of rubber fingers to adapt to different types of soil.
The fixing system
The fixing system is made up of a metal square fixed by a gogue (40X40) allowing height and width adjustments in order to work as close as possible to the feet.
Thanks to the gogue system, this tool can be adapted to a wide range of equipment for combined use (inter-row and inter-row cultivation).
Hoeing finger attachment system
Adjustment and use of the in-row finger weeder
Setting
In-row finger weeder on straddle tractor
The finger weeders developed by Kress are extremely simple to design and use. As the tool does not have a retraction system, tool adjustments simply involve passing the tool as close as possible to the feet. The fingers should fit snugly around the base of the foot.
Depending on the design of the tool holder, the inclination of the satellite can be varied. As a general rule, it should work at an angle of 15°. In this configuration, the working width is around 20 cm. The working depth is 3 to 4 cm.
In order to obtain a blown earth effect similar to that of an interceps blade, the forward speed must be high (around 7 to 8 km/h).
Depending on the design of the tool holder, the inclination of the satellite can be varied. As a general rule, it should work at an angle of 15°. In this configuration, the working width is around 20 cm. The working depth is 3 to 4 cm.
In order to obtain a blown earth effect similar to that of an interceps blade, the forward speed must be high (around 7 to 8 km/h).
Use
The finger weeder should preferably be used on weeds that are not very developed and on soil that has already been worked. This type of equipment can be used after small ridging operations. The rotation of the satellites throws the soil backwards and allows it to be levelled out (after several passes).
Experiment
See the list of experimentsSee more