New 3m drills mean min-till for less money
The commercial launch of a trio of new 3m tractor-mounted disc cultivator drills at LAMMA will focus attention on the increasing options available to smaller growers wanting to take the cost-saving min-till route to cereal crop establishment.
The Express 3TD drill from Horsch’s newly independent GB sales operation, Teagle’s Tulip Polymat seeder and Multidisc cultivator pairing and Lemken’s combination of a Solitair 8 seeder and Heliodor compact disc cultivator provide alternatives to a handful of implements built to a similar formula.
“Non-powered cultivator drills have much to offer in terms of higher forward speed and lower operating cost compared with power harrow-based machines,” says Mark Ormond of Lemken UK.
Unlike the majority of min-till drills – the big trailed units produced for large-scale arable farms and needing a mass of horsepower up front – these new tractor-mounted units and the ones from Opico (He-Va), Rabe, Väderstad, Vogel & Noot and Willow Farm Machinery (Mascar) are aimed at mixed farms and smaller arable operations.
All come in 3m working and transport widths, with larger versions also available in some cases, and they cost less than their trailed counterparts of the same width.
Being mounted and, therefore, more manoeuvrable, they allow narrower headland widths; and some operators argue that a mounted implement is easier to operate when soil conditions deteriorate late in the sowing season.
“Many growers using min-till techniques also use the plough, especially where grass weeds are a problem,” Mark Ormond points out. “But few drills are equally suited to both systems and while trailed cultivator drills can cope on ploughed land when drilling early in good weather, late drilling on wet ploughed land is not always their biggest strength.”
Lemken’s Solitair 8 seeder can now piggy-back on the Heliodor high-speed disc cultivator as well as a power harrow to give a choice of combinations.
The Solitair 8 and Heliodor have been engineered such that the seeder can also be mounted on a power harrow, which not only allows growers to choose between the two types of cultivator, but also to own both and operate whichever best suits the prevailing conditions.
The 3m mounted Rabe MegaDrill was one of the first seeders of this type on the scene and Jason Weston of Rabe UK says the disc soil-working performance offers one-pass working opportunities in favourable situations.
The Rabe MegaDrill 300 has cultivating discs that also act as openers for the close-fitting coulters. They are followed by individual press wheels.
“The MegaDrill’s discs have a useful cultivating effect, but the machine is versatile enough to be used with a power harrow or tine cultivator to work the soil more intensely,” he points out. “An increasingly popular approach is to put a 3m cultivator on the front of the tractor to create a balanced one-pass combination.”
Vector Disc system on the He-Va Fanterra drill (above) integrates coulter shoes with discs carried on individual ‘C’ spring tines.
Added cultivation effect can be achieved with the He-Va Kulti-Seeder and Fanterra Vector Disc drills from Opico, and the Lemken Solitair 8 / Heliodor combination, by adding optional ‘S’ spring or paddle tines along the front of the implement. Combine the Tulip Polymat seeder with the Vario version of the Dutch company’s Multidisc and retractable subsoiling legs can be deployed between the disc gangs.
Mascar’s Dakota 300 air drill rides on a cultivator with adjustable disc stagger to suit soil type and conditions. Seed is placed through double-disc openers.
Although further variations are evident in the seed distribution mechanisms and coulter arrangements, one thing most of these drills have in common is the two rows of angled discs set beneath the main frame that finish the seedbed-making process.
Mostly, these elements are derived from shallow-working high-speed disc cultivators that have become popular for stubble busting over the past six years or so. Only the He-Va Kulti-Seeder differs in this respect; it has the same number of discs as He-Va’s Fanterra, but they are arranged in three overlapping rows giving wider disc-to-disc spacing for greater trash clearance.
On the Horsch Express, Mascar Dakota, Tulip Polymat Multidisc, Väderstad Carrier Drill and Vogel & Noot TerraDrill, each disc is carried on its own trailing arm with four rubber inserts between the mounting clamp and frame. These protect the discs by allowing them to deflect over large stones and also to maintain accurate sowing depths by following any dips and humps in the field surface.
Vogel & Noot TerraDrill A300 can have separate single- or double-disc coulters or a simpler arrangement of a seed tube positioned in the lee of the discs.
The Rabe MegaDrill also uses this form of suspension, but mounts the discs differently. They are carried on individual arms, but these are welded to a subframe carrying two discs and a following zero pressure press wheel.
Väderstad’s Carrier Drill deploys two rows of notched discs for cultivating a tilth and opening a seed slot.
Each subframe is attached to the main frame by parallel links and the rubber insert suspension elements. The linkage ensures that each pair of discs and the press wheel positioned behind them move almost vertically when deflected.
Mounted Kulti-Seeder from He-Va has a full-width gravity seedbox.
A different approach is used by Lemken for the Heliodor, on which single-leaf spring steel droppers are used to locate the discs, and on the He-Va Kulti-Seeder and Fanterra drills, which have each disc mounted on a ‘C’ spring tine.
He-Va Kulti-Seeder’s unique three rows of discs give greater trash clearance. Added cultivation effect can be obtained by fitting paddle tines in front.
“This arrangement results in vertical movement when the disc drops into a hollow or rises over a ridge,” points out Angus Steven of Opico. “It also provides consistent coulter pressure and good seed depth control, even when working at quite fast speeds.”
The influence on seeding depth arises from using the cultivating discs as openers, with seed coulters tucked snugly against the outer face of the disc. The Rabe MegaDrill has a similar arrangement.
In contrast, a dedicated set of disc openers are deployed behind the soil consolidation tools on the Solitair 8, Horsch Express and the ‘S’ version of the Vogel & Noot TerraDrill.
Seed is broadcast from outlet deflectors positioned in front of the finish roller or packer on the Tulip Polymat H/Multidisc combination from Teagle Machinery.
While the Solitair uses Lemken’s familiar double-disc opener mounted on parallel linkage with individual rubber press wheels, the Horsch, Mascar and Vogel & Noot seeding units use single trailing coulter arms for the double-disc openers, with Vogel & Noot also offering Suffolk and single-disc designs.
“The TerraDrill can also be had with a simpler and cheaper seeding arrangement, using drop tubes positioned close alongside the cultivating discs,” notes Finlay Basset of Vogel & Noot.
This solution is also used on the Väderstad Carrier Drill for its simplicity, low installation cost and lack of soil-engaging parts, with Tulip opting for an array of broadcasting outlets positioned ahead of the Polymat Multidisc’s soil consolidating roller or packer.
For a full comparison of all of these models click here.
LAMMA2011
