Root balling 2.0: no burlap and wire, but biodegradable cellulose-based material |
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Machine can be mounted on most tool carriers
Damcon BV in Opheusden has developed a machine that wraps root balls of trees grown in open ground or in bags or pots. It saves a great deal of labor and helps reduce the waste stream.
The Damcon Tree Wrapper DTW-70 was developed in-house by Damcon, a specialist in tree nursery machinery. Wrapping the root ball of young trees has traditionally been done manually—and it's heavy work. "For years this has involved manually wrapping a burlap cloth and a wire net around the root ball," explains Leendert Scheurwater of Damcon. "It takes two people, it's muddy work that requires you to constantly bend over, and the materials are stiff. It's not pleasant work, and it shows—many nurseries struggle to find people willing to do it."
Biodegradable material
That's no longer necessary, as the Damcon DTW-70 does the job in under a minute. The machine can be mounted on most tool carriers and operated by a single person. The tree is slightly lifted, and the machine wraps the root ball automatically. Instead of burlap and wire, Damcon uses a fully biodegradable cellulose-based material. "The tree goes into the ground with the wrap still on it; the material decomposes completely."
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The Damcon DTW-70 Tree Wrapper will go into production in the coming months.
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Weak spots
That's also the idea behind the traditional wrapping method, but in practice, the metal wire used in the net often remains intact longer than intended. "That wire can constrict the roots, causing weak points to form in the root system," Scheurwater explains. "The root keeps growing, and above ground everything looks fine, but in strong winds, a seemingly healthy tree can topple because the roots break at those constricted points. This is known as windthrow."
Environmental gains
Another advantage of the Tree Wrapper is its potential to reduce waste. Trees grown in pots or bags are usually delivered in those same containers. Since there are few regulations around returning and reusing these materials, customers often throw them away, says Scheurwater. "In the province of South Holland alone, that amounts to about 4.6 million kilos of plastic pots and bags per year. By wrapping the tree at the nursery, those containers can stay there and be reused by the grower."
The Damcon DTW-70 Tree Wrapper will go into production in the coming months.
This article was originally published on April 28, 2025 on the Boom In Business website.
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