Design and performance assessment of electric implements: A vine leaf remover

Reducing the environmental impact of agronomic activities represents one of the major challenges for agriculture and farmers. In response, manufacturers have increasingly focused their research efforts on the electrification of tractors and agricultural machinery. Replacing mechanical and hydraulic components with electric actuators offers several advantages, including improved energy efficiency, enhanced safety, and greater operator comfort when connecting implements, due to the elimination of the cardan shaft in power take-off (PTO) driven machinery. Electric actuators, which enable advanced control capabilities such as precise regulation of speed and motion direction, facilitate the development of innovative functionalities in agricultural equipment. Although various prototypes of electrified agricultural machines have been developed, only a limited number have reached the market. The main barrier to widespread adoption remains the high-power electricity required by implements, which conventional tractors cannot supply. External PTO-driven electric generators, either mounted on tractors or integrated into implements, provide a practical interim solution until tractors equipped with integrated high-power electrical systems become commercially available. This paper presents the design and performance evaluation of a full-electric implement: a vine leaf remover powered by an external, tractor-mounted, low-voltage PTO-driven generator (10 kW, 48 V). Its performance was assessed in a vineyard and compared with that of a hydraulic version of the same implement. The electric implement demonstrated a substantial reduction in PTO power requirements at the same operational effectiveness level. These results highlight the potential of electrification in agriculture to improve energy efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of agricultural practices.