New Braud combination sets harvesting record

Leading grape harvesting specialist, Braud has unveiled its new self-propelled grape harvester with a destemmer and side conveyor which the company is boldly labelling 'the most state-of-the-art grape harvester to date'.

Braud, which is part of the CNH Global group and marketed under the New Holland agricultural brand, recently put its new 9090X grape harvester model to the test at Waikerie, South Australia, on a seven-hectare red-grape parcel. For the test, New Holland targeted a Shiraz grape variety to focus not only on capacity, but also on sample quality.

Using a fleet consisting of a Braud 9090X grape harvester with a new destemmer and side conveyor; five New Holland T4.105F tractors and an Iveco Stralis 560hp truck, an average of 24.7 tonnes of destemmed grapes were harvested per hour, adding up to a whopping 197.6 tonnes in eight hours.

That makes nearly 200,000 bottles of Shiraz wine.

The SGS-verified performance test also showed an extra-low MOG (Material other than Grape) rate of one per cent, minimal losses and record low fuel consumption of 0.99 litres per harvested tonne.

“This test shows how top productivity can go hand-in-hand with extraordinary harvesting and destemming accuracy”, said New Holland head of Grape & Olive Product, Thierry Le Briquer.

“The test also confirms New Holland as the absolute leader in the grape harvester business, and the Braud 9090X as the highest-productivity grape-harvester ever.”

New Holland says the new Braud 9090X combo machine can provide wine growers with exceptional capacity and speed of operation while improving wine quality by removing stems and MOG from the fruit sample.

The 9090X series is based on proven Braud design and features a 90-degree turn angle, which New Holland claims is the tightest turn radius on the market. An integrated Intelligent Management System with IntelliView touch-screen monitor provides full access to all key harvesting functions.

The Braud 9090X is equipped with a 175hp, 6-cylinder FPT Industrial Common Rail power unit, and a unique Braud SDC shaking system. The system consists of independent shaking rods that are rear-mounted on flexible supports that allow for perfect control for the gentlest picking.

The Noria bucket and fruit-catching system enables collection and transport with no fruit maceration.

“The Braud 9090X with the destemming unit represents a real breakthrough in the market, coupling high capacity with top wine quality,” said Braud’s Grape & Olive Global Product Manager, Philippe Boisseau.

“We see enormous market potential for this combination, which has recently been launched in the North American and Asia & Pacific Regions.

“Very soon some of the worlds most celebrated premium-quality wines could be produced from grapes harvested and destemmed by just one of our machines.”

Braud’s machines are manufactured in the French plant of Coex - New Holland’s Centre of Excellence for self-propelled grape and olive harvesters – where more than 15,000 Braud grape harvesters have been produced to date.

Braud grape harvesters are sold in more than 30 countries worldwide.