Description
The sprigger is a modified potato harvester. lt consists of an undercutting blade and a pair of wide, inclined conveyors. The conveyors are long rods attached between two chains and spaced 3.8 cm apart. A third conveyor across the top of the machine moves the harvested material to the side where it is dumped into a truck or piled in windrows. The sprigger is towed and powered by a tractor. After the shrubs are mowed, the sprigger is pulled through the stand, cutting the roots well below the ground surface. The cutting action lifts the soil and shrubs onto the conveyors. The soil is shaken loose and falls through the spaces in the conveyors to the ground. The bareroot, rhizomatous shrubs, or sprigs, are gathered and carefully planted on the reclamation area.
Specifications: width: 1.5 m, depth: 30 cm, power requirements (drawbar): 60 to 75 kW
Application
The sprigger undercuts and gathers sprigs, or portions of rhizomatous stems, that can produce roots and shoots. The harvested sprigs are then spread out on the area to be revegetated and covered with soil.
Images
References / Additional Information
Hallman, R. 1981. BLM’s equipment development program for revegetating disturbed lands. VREW 35th Annual Report. 1981 February 8-9. Tulsa, OK: 43.
Hallman, R. 1981. Equipment development projects for disturbed land reclamation. VREW 35th Annual Report. 1981 February 8-9. Tulsa, OK: 15-16.