Grower demand is apparently behind Mzuri’s decision to build a tractor-mounted Pro-Til direct seeder larger than the existing 3m version.

Apart from the added manoeuvrability of a mounted machine versus trailed versions, the Pro-Til 480 iGen – for “innovation generation” – adds another size to the current 3m, 4m and 6m line-up, at 4.8m.

Like all Pro-Til drills, the latest version reflects the Mzuri philosophy of a single-pass approach into stubble and cover crops by creating tilled strips, although the drills are said to be equally at home in an inversion tillage system.

See also: Ultimate Guide to buying a trailed combination drill 2022

Mounted models differ from their trailed cousins in several respects – they are all seed-only and have a packer rather than individual tilled soil press wheels, for example, and the coulters are mounted differently.

To some extent, these differences along with the seed tank position, keep the implement as short as possible with as much weight forward as is feasible.

Strip-till system

Tines with hydraulic protection leading the way are designed to clear surface trash and till the soil with a view to creating favourable conditions for seed germination and early growth.

A full-width shark’s fin steel packer consolidates the resulting tilth ahead of seed coulters mounted on C-shaped spring tines; each has its own semi-pneumatic depth control and press wheel.

A two-row flexible-tine hydraulic harrow completes the run of elements to leave a seed-bed with a uniformly level surface.

The Pro-Til 480 iGen carries 15 coulters at 320mm row spacing, the narrowest of any drills in the range and contrasting in particular with the 4m and 6m models’ 363mm spacing.

Seed coulters are fed from a tank with a 2,200-litre capacity, pressurised to achieve consistent metering, especially at faster working speeds up to 18kph, while the centre-split folding tine and coulter section frames reduce overall width to 2.8m.

Pricing has yet to be decided, but Mzuri hopes its new model will cost 30% less per metre than its trailed versions.