Rape drilling may be just about finished across the UK for this year, but this new precision liquid nitrogen applicator from Suffolk firm Landquip could well be of interest for next year’s drilling season.

It’s a Nitro-Band precision band applicator that fits any drill and applies liquid nitrogen at the time of drilling. The benefit, says the company, is that the plant gets an immediate boost that aids growth and helps ensure a strong, well-established crop prior to winter.

Nitrogen is applied in bands directly in line with the seed to minimise waste, conserve moisture and to reduce weed competition between rows. Since it’s done at the same time as drilling, it also saves a pass.

Landquip offers a choice of 1,000- and 1,250-litre tanks that mount on the front linkage of the tractor. They can be quickly taken on and off by removing the quick-fit hydraulic hosing and transfer pipes, then the whole unit can be stored on its own demount stands. A hydraulically driven centrifugal or three-cylinder piston pump mounted on the front tank chassis allows the tank to self-fill and provides spraying pressure.

A pipe then takes the liquid nitrogen from the tank to a distribution manifold on the drill that divides the flow between nozzles mounted behind the seeding tine on a heavy-duty fixing bracket. A range of spray tips is available to give different application rates and band widths.

An electric on/off switch is fitted as standard and automatically switches the flow off or on when raising or lowering the drill, so the operator can fully focus on other end-of-bout tasks.

Application flow rate can controlled by GPS, wheel-sensed speed sensor or by simply setting the pressure on the in-cab Gemini multi-data information system that gives volumes, pressure and speed. Cost is £5,700 for the standard unit and £7,800 if you want the full GPS-controlled version.

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