Abstract: The harvester has a harvesting head, a shredder, cleaning and separating assemblies including a roller bed, a fruit sizer and a fruit discharge. The roller bed includes a plurality of parallel rollers journaled on a roller bed frame. The roller bed frame is pivoted relative to the harvester frame to control the rate of movement of crop material in an axial direction relative to the rollers. Nips are formed between the rollers. A bar is supported by the roller bed frame directly above each nip in a position parallel to the adjacent nip. These bars are vertically adjustable toward and away from the nips to accommodate different sizes and shapes of fruit and to keep two rollers from simultaneously engaging one fruit. A reversible drive rotates adjacent rollers in opposite directions to separate leaves and stems from the fruit.

Abstract: The pepper harvester has a harvesting head, a primary conveyor, a shredder, cleaning and separating assemblies, a pepper sizer, a sorting bed and a discharge conveyor. The shredder is mounted above the primary elevator. First and second side plates of the shredder rotatably support three drums for rotation about parallel horizontal axes. The drums have a plurality of radially extending posts. The posts on a first drum project in between the posts on a second drum. The posts on a third drum project between the posts on the second drum. The drums are driven so that the first drum lifts crop material including some pepper from the conveyor. This crop material passes between the first and second drums, between the second and third drums and back to the conveyor. The posts on the drums travel at different speeds and shred cop material other than peppers.

Abstract: The pepper harvester has a harvesting head, a primary conveyor, a shredder, cleaning and separating assemblies, a pepper sizer, a sorting bed and a discharge conveyor. The shredder is mounted above the primary elevator. First and second side plates of the shredder rotatably support three drums for rotation about parallel horizontal axes. The drums have a plurality of radially extending posts. The posts on a first drum project in between the posts on a second drum. The posts on a third drum project between the posts on the second drum. The drums are driven so that the first drum lifts crop material including some pepper from the conveyor. This crop material passes between the first and second drums, between the second and third drums and back to the conveyor. The posts on the drums travel at different speeds and shred cop material other than peppers.

Abstract: The pepper harvester has a harvester head with a head frame that is attached to a harvester frame. Each row unit has a right row frame that is pivotally attached to the head frame and a left row unit that is pivotally attached to the head frame. Both row frames carry a helical bar assembly that rotates about a fore and aft axis and forms a slot for the passage of pepper plants, forward ground engaging members, and a forward plant feeder with fingers that rotate about a generally vertical axis and extend through vertically spaced slots in a cylindrical member. Snout assemblies with lower edge ledges for lifting low fruit, direct plants into the feeder fingers and the helical bars. The harvesting head has conveyor assemblies that convey fruit to a shredder for shredding stems, a roller bed for removing stems, a fanning mill and a fruit sizer.