In a bid to get pastures in good fettle without spending hours on the tractor seat, Devon firm Twose has built a handy one-pass grassland regenerator.

Combining the firm’s existing grassland subsoiler, aerator and a Stocks Micro Meter seeder unit, the new tool can lift, open up and seed pastures in one go.

See also: Reducing grassland compaction with subsoiling

The subsoiler sits at the front of the outfit and can be fitted with two, three or five legs.

These will work the ground to a maximum depth of 30cm, but in most conditions should be sufficient at about 22cm. The legs are also available with shearbolt protection or hydraulic auto-reset.

A flat roller on the back of the subsoiler then consolidates the ground before the clover or forage rape seed is dropped in.

Twose says the amount of tilth generated behind the leg is ideal for speedy germination and the opened ground below allows for good taproot growth. The aerator follows at the rear of the machine and works to a depth of about15cm.

Twose has been testing the unit by band-sowing red clover, which it says has established well. The unit should also be suitable for planting white clover and forage rape, as well as grass seed.

About 100hp is required to pull the three-leg machine and the five-leg version needs about 160hp.

Price: £12,000.