Tomatoes are a big crop in Italy, evident by the number of self-propelled harvesters on display at last week’s Italian EIMA show. Canned or processed into juice or puree, Corima, one of four Italian makers of such machines, brought its two-row C/RP 150 to Bologna. Powered by a six-cylinder 254hp Stage IV John Deere engine, the hydrostatically-driven machine works at speeds of up to 7.5km/hr. The largest markets for self-propelled tomato harvesters are in California, China and Turkey. In Italy, the main harvesting season is from the last week of June to the end of the first week of July. Harvested in a single pass, colour scanning devices separate red from green tomatoes, the latter of which are returned to the ground. Price of the mid-spec machine at EIMA, which is capable of lifting 67-70tph, is around €250,000.