A roller bed cleaning assembly is now available as an alternative to the traditional turbine arrangement used on Vervaet’s sugar beet harvesters – making it the only company to offer both methods of primary cleaning.

Lifting remains the work of the firm’s standard walking share arrangement, but the crop is then placed on a full-width roller bed consisting of seven 100mm-diameter tubes. When specced, these replace the twin front turbines.

See also: Key considerations for sugar beet weed control this season

The first two spiral rollers auger the beet outwards, while the rest centre the crop.

Shorter rollers either side of the throat form a backstop, which also helps to move the beet to the middle. From here, it is discharged onto a central cleaning turbine. This arrangement offers the potential of faster forward speed and, says Vervaet, should be gentler on the beet.

Roller speed can be varied from the cab to suit different soil types – the first six are operated as one group, with the seventh roller able to run in reverse and offer a more aggressive final clean of the crop.

Currently, the new design is only an option on the flagship six-wheel Beet Eater 625, but this will be extended to the Q-series machines soon. J Riley Beet Harvesters continues to be the sole UK importer.