Since John Deere snapped up Mazzotti in 2017 it has been busy administering a series of green injections to the Italian maker’s range of self-propelled sprayers.

The Deerification has been gradual, but by the time the firm’s flagship small-chassis machine – the 4,000-litre MAF4080HP – was introduced in late 2020, engines, spray pumps, cabs and controls were all provided by the new parent company.

See also: How to retrofit old sprayers with automatic section control

One of the first customers to take a shine to these Italian/American hybrids was father-and-son team Rob Allen and Will Howe of GH Allen Farms.

They run a 600ha arable operation based in Hempnall, Norfolk and took delivery of a MAF4080 in autumn 2021.

We paid them a visit as the machine was nearing the end of its second full season of work to quiz them on how well it has been performing.

What made you choose a Mazzotti MAF4080?

The time had come to replace our 16-year-old Househam Air Ride 2500 and we wanted a bigger machine with some more modern technology on it.

Most of our kit was already running on RTK guidance, so it was a must that the new sprayer had this, and we wanted to move to a wider boom with auto-levelling and individual nozzle control.

A few candidates made it on to our shortlist, including the latest Air Ride, a Sands and a second-hand Horsch, but the Mazzotti MAF4080 jumped out at us for several reasons.

One was that it is reasonably compact for a 4,000-litre machine, but we also liked the fact that it features John Deere’s M-Spray system, which uses separate pumps for filling and spraying.

© James Andrews

We’d seen the system on a friend’s trailed sprayer and liked the “active pause” feature that stops the tank filling when you use the induction hopper so that chemical can be put in at a sensible pace.

It also directs plenty of clean water to the hopper for rinsing.

Added to that, it has a nicely specced John Deere combine cab, which is pressurised to keep any chemical vapours out.

© James Andrews

The only reservations we had were the fact that it was an unproven brand in the UK and this was a new model.

However, when we were assured by our dealer, Ben Burgess, as well as John Deere and Mazzotti that they would stand by the machine, we did a deal without even trying a demonstrator.

Ours was the first 4080 that came into the country, making an appearance at the Cereals event in 2021 and a couple of other shows before it came to us in late summer.

© James Andrews

Did you spec any extras?

The sprayer had already been ordered by John Deere and had all the kit we wanted, plus a few bits we didn’t deem necessary, such as hydraulic track width adjustment and a rear fill pipe.

Ideally, we’d have gone for a 30m boom, rather than the 36m already fitted, but the deal was right and we liked the fact we could have it immediately, rather than having to sit on a lengthy waiting list.

Weight was a slight concern as it’s a good bit heavier than the old Househam, which itself used to cut into our heavy clay soils in winter despite having a decent set of flotation tyres.

© James Andrews

We were assured that the larger-diameter wheels would perform better, particularly as they were shod with a chunky set of 650mm Michelin Axiobib tyres.

And we needn’t have worried, as they barely make a mark, even when the ground is wet.

For the first year we ran the 650s all season, but we concluded that we were taking out too much crop and undoing all of the gains we had made by moving up from 24m.

So, this season, we invested in a set of 380/90 R46 row crops which keep the tramlines nice and narrow. They also increase the ride height slightly so we’ve got a bit more ground clearance for spraying oilseed rape.

Another thing we’ve noticed about running the 650s all winter is that they give a nice, solid, smooth base for the row crops to run on, even with the wet spring we’ve just had.

How has it performed?

The sprayer has now clocked up 950 hours and we’ve been seriously impressed with its performance.

But it hasn’t all been plain sailing. We knew we were taking a slight punt on a new machine and there have been a few teething problems.

One was the original brackets for the steering rams, which weren’t strong enough for our rough roads, and we’ve had a few niggles with boom folding and levelling.

Rob Allen, left, and Will Howe © James Andrews

However, Ben Burgess and Mazzotti have been true to their word, always being on-hand to get us going again. They’ve also upgraded a handful of parts, many of which will now be standard fitment on new machines.

Even the side panels were offered to be swapped for some with a lower-profile that give a better view of the boom – we didn’t think they looked quite as smart as the originals though, so stuck with the old ones as we were happy with the visibility.

The Norac boom levelling system is one element that does still need some fine tuning. We were expecting it to be fantastic, but we’ve been surprised by how slow it is to react.

Hopefully some software updates and adjustments will get it performing like we hoped it would. 

Mazzotti offers the 4080 with either a four- or six-cylinder engine.

Ours has the smaller block and, as there aren’t any hills to worry about in Norfolk, the 175hp has proved to be ample, allowing us to maintain 3bar of pressure at speeds of up to 14kph.

Those on steeper ground might appreciate some extra power, though. 

The Mspray system has also been great, making filling so much more straightforward.

We can programme exactly how much water we want it to draw in and we’re never pressured to get the chemical loaded, even when there’s a complex tank mix.

Added to that, it’s great that there’s no Ramsay seal to worry about changing.

Although we were wary of the 36m boom, moving to the wider tramlines has been fine in most of our fields and we’ve noticeably improved output.

However, there are some smaller fields where we have had to stick to 24m. Thankfully the boom can be used folded to this width and it still has a break-back at the mid fold point if we do happen to clip an obstacle.

© James Andrews

One annoyance is the fact that the solenoids on the John Deere five-way nozzle bodies prevent them from sitting low enough.

There’s no effect on the spray pattern, but their positioning causes a slight misting effect that contaminates the underside of the boom.

What could be improved?

The design of the machine is great and after a year of minor tweaks Mazzotti has got it pretty well sorted.

The only things we’re waiting for now are some software improvements to the Norac boom levelling and making a couple of functions available on the joystick, rather than having them on separate buttons.

Another thing is the hydraulic jack that came with the machine to make wheel changes quicker and safer. It’s a very handy tool, but it’s just not quite powerful enough, so we end up using another jack to help it out.