title: Technology alternatives for tapping the pruning residue resource.
abstract: Four commercial harvesters were compared with respect to recovery of pruning residues for energy conversion. These harvesters were tested side-by-side on 17 test fields, totaling 15 ha. The test fields consisted of vineyards and apple and pear orchards. The residue yield was between 0.7 and 9 green tonne per hectare, at a moisture content from 37% to 48%. Yield was highest for the orchards, and lowest for vineyards. Harvesters collected the residues and moved them to the roadside at a cost of between 11 and 60€ per green tonne, depending on field conditions and technology choice. Single-pass harvesting was the cheapest, especially if applied through a dedicated tractor and a towed unit with a large integral container. Two-pass harvesting was the most flexible, but also the most expensive: it should be favored only when space, weather or other management constraints limit the application of the other systems.
authors.affiliation: CNR IVALSA, Via Madonna del Piano 10, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy. magagnotti@ivalsa.cnr.it
authors.forename: Natascia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Magagnotti
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pari
authors.forename: Gianni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Picchi
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Spinelli
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D016468:Forestry / Q000379:methods*; D005638:Fruit; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical; D014934:Wood
chemical_list: D007220:Industrial Waste