CombCut finds mainstream users
One of the more unusual machines at Cereals was this CombCut weed mower from Swedish maker JustCommonSense.
It’s chiefly designed for organic growers, but could well be useful for mainstream farmers looking to find ways of dealing with blackgrass and other weeds. It can be used in both arable and grass crops.
The idea is that you keep the combs close to the ground – typically 15cm. Crop and weeds alike pass through the fixed comb – thin leaves like wheat pass straight through unharmed but thistles, docks, charlock and weed beet are cut off or severely damaged. Meanwhile, nylon brushes help push the crop through. Forward speed is about 10kph.
Some 100 machines have been sold in Sweden over the last three years, says the firm’s Jonas Carlsson. Two models are available, a 6m and 8m model, and the whole unit weighs just 800kg or 1,000kg. Cost of the 6m unit is £16,000 and two machines have already been bought by UK growers.
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