To remove the green leaves, the front of the defoliator is very similar to a stalk chopper one would use on corn stalks and behind that are spinning rubber flails.  Scalper blades are mounted at the rear of the defoliator that are sharp steel blades mounted horizontally that slice the top of the beet off where the leaves grow out.

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(NQbeets (full).png)

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IMG_1049LR (full).jpg (139KB - 11 downloads)

NQbeets (full).png (170KB - 8 downloads)

NQbeets2 (full).png (165KB - 7 downloads)

beetpiler (full).png (102KB - 6 downloads)