There’s been a sizeable boost in working width for Weaving Machinery’s Sabre direct tine drill, which is now available in a high-output trailed format.

Prior to this, an 8m mounted with 2,000-litre plastic hopper was the biggest on offer.

But buyers are now able to place 12m of seed in a single pass, with a generous 6,200-litre steel grain cart keeping top-ups to a minimum.

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This is split into three sections and is pressurised to make sure the correct amount of seed makes it to each of the 48 coulters.

There’s even room at the front to fit a separate Avadex applicator.

The move to a pressurised system has forced the Worcestershire firm to move away from Accord-style metering units. Rather than opt another off-the-shelf kit, it’s created its own.

This is fabricated in-house out of stainless-steel plate and has slot-in cartridges for accommodating different sized seed.

RDS provides the motors, as well as the isobus control system, which is housed in a locker at the front of the rig.

Bespoke undercarriage

A custom chassis was also required, as the version Weaving uses on its GD disc drills is only suitable for models up to 8m wide.

Instead of having the tines slung in the middle of the machine, designers have moved the coulter assembly to the rear.

This enables it to tilt vertically during folding, before tucking itself neatly along the sides of the seed cart – a bit like a sprayer boom.

The simple 12mm tines are the same as previous Sabres.

However, Weaving has recently switched to cast steel versions with tungsten wear pads, which it says last three times as long as the old, hardened steel units.

Buyers get the option of two coulter arrangements. The pictured example has the tines packed into two rows with a set of cutting discs at the front.

But for optimum trash flow, it’s possible to drop the discs and generously dot the coulters over three rows.

The final element is a double following harrow, which levels the surface and rakes some soil over the seed.

The price for this bumper capacity is £148,800.