Potato harvesters are machines that harvest potatoes. They work by lifting the potatoes from the bed using a share. Soil and crop are transferred onto a series of webs where the loose soil is sieved out. The potatoes are moved towards the back of the harvester on to a separation unit and then (on human-operated machines) to a picking table where people pick out the stones, clods, and haulms (stems or stalks) by hand. The potatoes then go on to a side elevator and into a trailer or a potato box.

Types

Potato spinner

A potato spinner is connected to a tractor through the three-point linkage. Older machines were drawn by horse and were driven by a ground drive. It works by a flat piece of metal which runs horizontal to the ground lifting the potatoes up and a large wheel with spokes on it called a reel pushing the clay and potatoes out to the side. The potatoes are then gathered by hand, placed into containers and transported from the field for further packaging.^{[citation needed]}

The potato spinner is becoming obsolete because modern potato harvesting equipment eliminates manual gathering of potatoes and leaves fewer potatoes in the soil.^{[citation needed]}

Haulm topper

A haulm topper is an agricultural machine that cuts potato stems (haulms) before potatoes are harvested. It is like a flail mower but has the profile of the potato drills. Modern potato farmers often mount a haulm topper on the front of the tractor and have a trailed potato harvester towed behind the tractor. Toppers can also be rear-mounted. It is a very efficient machine.