Patent ID: 8136335

Claim:
A harvester for brassicas , the harvester being movable along a plant row and comprising means engageable with a plant to align the plant in a generally upright condition for harvesting, means for cutting a stem of the plant, and transport means for moving foliage away from the zone of a head of the plant so as to isolate the plant head prior to cutting of the stem and to carry the head following cutting to a discharge zone, wherein the transport means comprises opposed conveyor fingers progressively movable between open and closed positions, wherein when in an open position in which ends of the fingers are spaced the fingers are movable along a path which includes a descending portion to engage foliage adjacent the plant head and displace foliage away from the zone of the head prior to cutting, and in a closed position the fingers engage the head from beneath so as to carry the head when cut to the discharge zone.