Blueberry prunings efficiently converted to mulch

We are seeing phenomenal growth in the berry farming industry, especially blueberry farming, and with this a resourceful application for wood chippers has emerged and proved its value in berry orchards.

Blueberries are becoming more and more popular with more farms popping up all over the Western Cape from George to Swellendam, Hermanus, Napier, Worcester, Stellenbosch just to name a few. Blueberries grow vigorously, but take a couple of years to get to full production. Pruning the blueberry plants stimulates new growth. The process involves cutting the plant back down to ground level, which leaves a great deal of prunings on the ground. This green waste then needs to be carted out quickly and dumped outside the orchard where it can be chipped or removed. The time-consuming and labour-intensive task of this double handling of material is often a problem on farms. This is where the use of a chipper becomes invaluable.

The chipper will go down the one row and blow the material into a tip trailer, which will be moving along in the next row getting rid of the material as it gets pruned without double handling. The chipping can then be composted or used directly as mulch. Blueberries have a shallow root system and so the use of mulch is a very useful method of keeping the root system moist. The best way to do this is by applying a 50mm to 100mm layer of wood chips on top of the soil.

This is just one example of how a TOMCAT chipper can be used to process orchard prunings effectively and convert these into an asset for your farm. We have various sizes and different types of chippers to suit your unique need. Do not hesitate to contact our sales team for a demonstration.

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