New operating concept - collecting weed seeds in the fields

Cut off weed seeds in the field to reduce them

Mechanical weed control is experiencing a revival throughout Europe as the use of chemicals is on the decline. Also, amid a growing weed pressure due to herbicide resistance, many conventional farmers are looking for new and innovative mechanical weeders.

In response to these needs, Zürn Harvesting and the French inventor Romain Bouillé introduced the Top Cut Collect weed harvester at Agritechnica 2019. This machine cuts the seed heads of tall growing weed plants above the canopy of the standing crop and then collects the weed seeds in a hopper.

Since then, Zürn Harvesting has deployed a multitude of machines to the fields. Benefitting from this extensive experience, the engineers at Zürn continued refining the machine by implementing wishes from farmers and contractors for optimising the product.

Novel operation system boosts operator comfort

The 2024 season will see a brand-new operating system that consists of a touchscreen display unit and a multifunction lever. “This is our response to multiple requests from our customers who asked for automated procedures”, explains Samuel Sieglin, Head of Sales at Zürn Harvesting. “The new and intuitive user concept eliminates operator errors for added reliability and reduced operator stress.”
Folding the machine from transport into work position is easy and simple by tapping the graphic user interface of the 10-inch touchscreen display. The cutting height is set by flicking a switch on the ergonomically designed multifunction lever, which automatically adjusts the gauge wheels on the booms by pressure control. Headland turns, too, are managed by pressing a button, which lifts and lowers the booms to the respective default position. Operators can also customise individual user profiles. The hardware is of course designed for accommodating also future software upgrades and levels.
Thanks to this straightforward and intuitive operating system, any driver immediately feels at home with the system, which was a requirement from our contractor customers. The intuitive operation allows the drivers to concentrate on the work at hand and achieve optimum results.

Suits multiple crops

The TOP CUT COLLECT can now be used for everything from weed control in cereals, cupping cuts in soybeans, sugar beet, etc. to special applications such as herb production.
The trailed machine is available with working widths of 9 and 12 meters.