WHAT WE SELL

Forage harvesters

Grain harvesters

Peanut (groundnut) and
bean harvesters

Bulb and tuber
harvesters

 Onion harvesting and storing

Harvesting onions is not always easy as some varieties can easily be mechanically handled (long-day onions) while others can suffer dramatically from inappropriate mechanical treatment. This is the case of most short-day varieties which contain less water and have more tender flesh.

Onions also need an appropriate curing to enable the neck to close properly. Not respecting the curing stage will lead the onions to rot and therefore radically shorten the bulbs' life. On the other hand, bulb quality will be affected if onions are kept too long in the sun for curing.

In practice, in order to obtain good quality for short-day varieties, onions can be mechanically lifted, as long, of course, as you avoid mixing them with soil, clods and rocks.

Next, if the onions are to be cured in the field, you can keep them in hessian bags once the tops have been removed. This is a good short term curing process. When the available workforce is not sufficient in number, handling the harvest mechanically is another solution.

Removing the tops and, then lifting the onions can be considered. Combined equipment such as the ones manufactured by Top-Air can also be used. In this case, cutting and loading are done in one single operation.

For grading, bagging and storing, ICS can supply complete packages from equipment selected in France, Holland, the U.K. and the U.S.A. Choice depends on onion type and final destination (exports, storage, local market etc.).

Onion storage requires specific temperature, humidity and air flow conditions. A preliminary study is essential for profitable storage. ICS and its partners can help you through the hole process.

Mechanically handling a garlic harvest is very difficult as the bulbs are very sensitive to direct sun exposure and tend to turn blue. Therefore, garlic has to be rapidly dug up, topped, and protected from the sun. It is obvious that this process is difficult to stick to without a sufficient workforce. Sophisticated systems enabling the mechanical treatment of garlic can be found. However, they are expensive and we do not recommend their use. What ICS generally advises is a simple soil lift followed by a manual intervention.

management of the machines: regular check of their functionning state and maintenance.

assembly and training on the spot.

delivery of spare parts.