Flower thinning machine that can also be used for pome fruit trees

By eliminating a high percentage of flowers, manual thinning is no longer necessary. This is the aim of Florìx, a flower thinning machine developed in collaboration with Agroxx and Rinieri. A technical day was held on 4 April 2024 at the Montanari company in Filetto di Ravenna, Italy.

"Florix has a number of innovative features," explains Nicola Rinieri. "Firstly, the arms are mobile, so they can be adapted to the wall of the orchard. Secondly, the operator can change the speed of the thinning wires. This can be done from the cab of the tractor using a joystick. This increases the efficiency of the thinning process and makes it possible to adapt it to the type of orchard, variety and type of fruit. In two years of trials, we have tested Florìx on both pome and stone fruit, and the results have been positive in both cases.

Liverani has extensive experience in the use of flower thinning technology. "You have to adapt the machine to the type of crop and to the condition of the flowers. I can change the number of rotations from the tractor cab, so I can decide to remove more or less flowers."

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Nicola Rinieri

The effectiveness of the machine is determined by two factors: the first is the removal of the flowers, the second is the result of the stress caused to the plant, which in the case of pomaceous fruits leads to the breaking of some leaves and the secondary fall of the flowers."

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The Florix thinning machine, always up to date

Andrea Cassani, Agrintesa's regional technician, was also present at the demonstration. "The development of the Florix has produced excellent results. It's a machine for contractors, and small and medium-sized farms in our region are using it to reduce thinning costs."

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Andrea Cassani

Farmer Filiberto Montanari has been thinning with Florix for the past few years. "I am satisfied because I remove at least 40% of the flowers. This is followed by final thinning, which reduces labor costs."

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Detail of the mechanical arms (64 cm) and wires (length 48 cm, diameter 4 mm)

"This machine," adds Rinieri, "is the most valid alternative to the use of chemical products and is irreplaceable in organic farming. It is also height adjustable. For example, it is possible to increase the speed of rotation on the upper ramps and reduce it on the lower ramps. This ensures that more flowers remain at the bottom, where there is a greater risk of them dropping in the event of frost. The different rotation speeds are very useful for adapting Florìx to different species and, within the same species, to different varieties. Not all crops are the same and it is necessary to differentiate between them in order to obtain effective results and reduce operating costs while obtaining a good fruit size."

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Flowers picked and discarded

The majority of Rinieri's exports (70%) are to foreign countries. "The Netherlands, the United States and France are the countries in which this market has shown the strongest growth over the last few years. In the Netherlands and elsewhere, there is a strong demand for machines for mechanical inter-row weeding, but also for mechanical pruning machines and soil cultivation machines."