Taking into consideration the costs of hand labour, along with the admin time and the logistics of finding and organising workers, mechanical defoliators, such as the ERO VITIpulse Combi, are an easily justifiable expense for all commercial vineyards.
Germany’s leading manufacturer of specialist viticulture machinery, ERO, has long offered growers a range of high-quality leaf removal tools including the Elite defoliator, with the ‘suck and pluck’ roller defoliation method, and the VITIpulse, with the pneumatic air blast method.
ERO developed the VITIpulse Combi to give growers the best of both worlds for canopy management – a defoliator with rollers to strip from the exterior and air to get right into the centre of the canopy.
With the VITIpulse Combi, more targeted defoliation results can be achieved as the roller removes the external leaves, which then allows the air blast to better penetrate through to the inner part of the canopy.
Operators can choose to either combine the use of both systems or run them individually and independently from each other.
Those using the machine early on in the season will also be able to use the VITIpulse Combi for fruit thinning as the air blast method successfully removes any unset berries.
The air blast system can only be used at certain times of the year. Ideally, before bunch set and then just before harvest to remove leaves and make it easier for picking.
From the in-cab terminal, operators can control the number of rotations per minute on the roller as well as the pressure and intensity of the air blast system. Oil temperature can also be monitored via the user-friendly display.
There is also the option to set the machine up to strip the east-side more than the west and have the machine automatically adjust as you turn into the next row.
VITIpulse Combi Specifications
- Can be used from flowering throughout the whole season prior to harvesting
- Premium defoliation quality is achieved at unparalleled working speeds of 5 – 5.5km/h
- The intensity of defoliation can be set separately for either side
- EB 490 P: Adjustment of roller-/ fan rpm, with mirror function
- VITIpulse: Adjustment of rotor speed (rpm) and air pressure
- Individual air shut-off on VITIpulse defoliator heads (optional)
- Continuous adjustment of the defoliation rate (fan speed) up to switching off the defoliator heads (each defoliating on the right or on the left) – with mirror function (optional)
- VITIpulse Combi Terminal Display which includes:
- The display and adjustment of the rotor speed
- The display of the compressor oil temperature
- The pressure display (intensity of air bursts) – with safety shutdown in case of excessive pressure
- Parallelogram unit suspension
- Impact protector
- Hydraulic width adjustment
- Manual adjustment of fan angle
- Hydraulic tilt of defoliator heads (optional)
- Support for lift with hydraulic angle adjustment (optional)
- Defoliator heads with stainless steel front shield and guide runners to protect trellis equipment
- No tools are required for opening the housing for cleaning and maintenance
- Double-acting hydraulic mast with cylinder inside the mast, 800 mm stroke
- 1100mm hydraulic mast with 800mm stroke (optional)
- Storage stand
- VITIpulse compressor unit:
- Compressor unit on frame with universal three-point support compatible with category I and category II.
- Quick connectors (Camlock)
- Universal joint shaft
- Muffler
- Optional compressor unit – wheelset (pendulum axles as full-floating axles) for the compressor rack tires: 15×6.00-6 (Ø: 368, width: 154, rim Ø: 6‘‘) adjustable external width 1.05 m to 1.35 m, swing axles (can be blocked for dismount and road travel)