Disc harrows are in vogue right now as the blackgrass battle rages on and Horsch has released a series of updates to help it compete with Lemken’s Rubin disc harrow range.

The little linkage-mounted Joker CT now has larger 520mm discs to deal with more trash and give it a better mixing effect.

Working depth ranges from 50-100mm and buyers that choose to add hydraulic depth control also get the soft ride function to reduce the bounce of the machine in dry conditions.

At the other end of the Joker spectrum, the widest 10 and 12m RT models now have two sets of dual turning wheels at the front to help bear some of the weight.

Another change has seen the transport wheels fold up between the packer and discs during work to improve balance and weight distribution, says Horsch.

A heavy duty version is also due to be launched in Hannover. The HD weighs 1t/metre, will be available in 5, 6 and 7.5m widths and will carry Horsch’s biggest 620mm discs. Power requirements are upwards of 30hp/metre and it’ll work down to 170mm – considerably lower than the standard Joker.

Drills

Horsch hopes to appeal to a wider range of buyers by introducing a smaller version of its Focus strip-till dill. It can now come in 4m guise and is 1.2m shorter than before.

Weight can be reduced by opting for a plastic hopper, tine spacing has been narrowed to 300mm and the tyre packer is bigger to reduce the horsepower requirements, says Horsch.

Placing fertiliser in the soil during cultivations is another trend gathering pace. Horsch now has a front and rear-mounted hopper with a 2,800-litre capacity and which can be attached to any trailed tine cultivator.

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