[getsmart-l] trimming the tops off carrots.

[John O'Gorman]

A new tip for me. Pass it on. 

http://www.hcfa.on.ca/cached.asp?id=1051
Machine makes carrot crop healthier 

By TOM McCOAG Amherst Bureau, Oxford Chronicle Herald, Sept. 17/07


OXFORD — Take a little off the top and you’ll have a healthier carrot crop.

It’s an adage Agriculture Canada researchers have known for some time, but it’s not one that commercial carrot growers such as Oxford Frozen Foods could put into practice because a machine simply didn’t exist to do the job.

That is, until this year.

Using plans developed by the researchers, the Oxford fruit and vegetable processor has built a mechanical carrot trimmer.

"We’re really excited about this machine," Angus Ells, Oxford Frozen Food’s carrot crop manager, said in a recent telephone interview from an Annapolis Valley field where the new machine was operating.

"We’re excited because we’ve partnered with Agriculture Canada to develop this machine, so we’ve seen it move from its theoretical stage to practical use. Using it will mean we can cut the amount of fungicides we have to use on the crop, reduce rot and improve the yield."

The company first became interested three years ago after learning about research showing that sclerotinia rot, which is caused by a fungus that doesn’t react to pesticides, could successfully be managed by trimming the tops off carrots.

The fungus and other bacterial diseases are helped to develop because the tops of the carrots form a canopy between the rows that keeps in heat and humidity, which is ideal for the development of the rot and diseases. 


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