Apparatus and method for harvesting crops

Apparatus for harvesting a crop comprising:

• a mobile support structure for movement over the ground;
• movable support means capable of being driven relative to the support structure and extending transversely across the direction of forward movement of the apparatus;
• transverse arrays of crop engaging elements, each extending in operation outwardly from the moveable support means;
• means for driving the movable support means so that the crop engaging elements enter and comb through the naturally disposed uncut crop at a front region, to detach wanted plant parts from the crop and to impel them into safe recovery trajectories;
• a crop guide cover extending over the apparatus to prevent detached crop particles from becoming lost and to direct them rearward into a collection facility;
• and
• at least some of the crop engaging elements each has a distal tip for dividing the naturally disposed uncut crop and a transverse crop engaging surface including an inner surface region closer to said movable support means and an outer surface region further from said movable support means and extending to said distal tip and wherein said outer surface region is inclined relative to said inner surface region as viewed in section in a plane through the element from said distal tip to said movable support means and which plane extends in the direction of movement of the element consequent upon said driving of said movable support means, such that the outer surface region leads the inner surface region in said direction of movement of the element, in order to retard outward movement of detached plant parts and to direct such parts into recovery trajectories which are foreshortened in the forward direction, relative to trajectories which result from the outwardly straight planar elements.