Patent ID: 7966796

Claim:
A harvesting and processing apparatus for traveling along a row of plants upstanding from the soil, said apparatus including: a. a mobile frame suitable for moving along at least one row of upstanding plants; b. a first cutting means for initially cutting off leaves at a top portion of a plant while the plant remains planted in the soil; c. a second cutting means for severing the plant at its base, to thereby detach the plant from its implanted root portion; d. conveying means to move the harvested plant to a slicing area; e. slicing means located in the slicing area to slice the harvested plant into sliced pieces having a configuration of predetermined size, said slicing means comprising a transverse cutting wheel supporting a plurality of radially extending blades members; f. grading means to grade the sliced pieces according to size, said grading means including a grate having a plurality of cross bars spaced to define transversely spaced interstices; g. conveying means to move the graded pieces to storage and transportation containers; and h. means for alternative lateral positioning of said first and second cutting means.