A lighter-duty alternative to the Assist toolbar subsoiler from Agriweld can have shear-bolt leg protection in place of the company’s Snap-Bar or hydraulic reset system.

And while the heavier-duty Assist is available in three sizes up to 6m wide with individual leg lift, the newcomer is produced in 3m and 4m sizes, both folding to 2.4m for transport.

The Assist Lite otherwise performs the same role – loosening soils with minimal surface disturbance while towing a seed drill or disc cultivator to reduce field passes and the cost of establishing the next crop.

See also: Low-disturbance toolbar expands tillage options

At the front of the tractor-mounted implement, 460mm diameter straight-running serrated discs are attached by clamps with rubber cushioning inserts to a toolbar that can be adjusted by turnbuckle to alter the discs’ working depth.

They are designed to cut through trash and the soil surface to form a slit down to a maximum depth of 300mm ahead of the soil-loosening legs, which can be positioned from 500mm to 750mm apart.

For leg protection, buyers can choose between a shear-bolt or the Snap-Bar, a flat steel plate with four laser-cut holes and slots calculated to give the device predictable “snapping” characteristics.

Held in place by lynch pins on one lug on the frame and one on the leg, the no-tools Snap-Bar is designed to avoid the snagging and wear issues that come with shear pins and shear bars, says Agriweld, and each can be used three times.

On the back of the subsoiling toolbar is a 50mm towing clevis as standard but it can also be equipped with a hydraulic lift arm assembly to pull a semi-mounted implement drawbar.

Prices for the 4m Assist Lite start at £17,895.