Knight Bednar Swifterdisc on show

Earlier this year Knight Farm Machinery announced it would be selling a new range of cultivation kit built by Czech firm Bednar.

The machines had their first airing at Cereals, but Tillage-Live was the first opportunity for punters to see them working.

At 10m wide the hefty-looking Swifterdisc XE was the one pulling in the crowds. This has two sets of 520cm, angled discs that can be adjusted to cultivate from 2cm to 10cm deep.

Each row is set at opposing angles to keep the machine straight and they run on grease-free bearings, too. A packer then finished off the job and there are several roller options to choose from.

But the most impressive part of the rig is the way it folds. Firstly, the side wings lift vertically and then the whole frame rocks forward on to the drawbar. This keeps the centre of gravity low and means the whole machine is less than 3m wide.

Power required to pull the 10m machine is 300-350hp and there’s an even bigger 12m one that needs at least 400hp on the front.

Prices for the 10m machine start at £59,586 and a fully loaded one will set you back £71,269.

Horsch adds seed/fertiliser tank

Seed and fertiliser drills used to be a rare sight south of the border, but according to Horsch, the system is getting more and more popular further south.

To meet this demand the maker has added a split seed and fertiliser tank to its popular Sprinter ST range.

Working for the first time at Tillage-Live, the updated drill was fitted with a 5,000-litre hopper, split to give one 3,000-litre and one 2,000-litre section.

Both are capable of distributing seed or fertiliser and there’s still the option of using the whole lot for seed.

The tank has also been sealed and pressurised so that seed can be distributed at lower fan speeds.

A 6m Sprinter ST with the split tank, packer and seed flow sensor costs £82,000.

New Holland gets clever with nitrogen

Nitrogen sensors are very much in vogue these days and New Holland has announced it will be joining the party.

Using electronic Greenseeker sensors developed by Trimble, the firm’s new system can measure how much nitrogen is in the crop and will adjust the amount of N the spreader applies to suit.

That means nutrients are applied where they are needed and none of the expensive fertiliser is wasted.The New Holland system uses four sensors mounted on a 4m boom attached to the front linkage. These sit 1m about the crop and take the average nitrogen reading across that 4m. The result for this part of the crop is then applied to the whole spreading width. There’s also the option of adding more sensors and making the boom wider to improve accuracy.

For those using liquid fertiliser, the sensors can also be mounted directly on the sprayer boom. The front-mounted boom will be available in a ridged or folding format.