Combi-drilling popular
Combi-drilling popular
COMBINATION drilling, the simultaneous sowing of both seed and fertiliser, remains a popular practice in Scotland.
Amazone has now produced a system which uses a front-mounted fertiliser hopper working in conjunction with a grain-only drill mounted at the rear of the tractor.
The Airstar Duo, which is available in 3m or 4m (10ft or 13ft) working widths, conveys fertiliser pneumatically to the rear distribution head and then to the drills coulters. Hopper capacity can be either 1500 or 1800 litres, with the fertiliser metered by land-driven fluted rollers via a gearbox.
Front hopper options extend to the use of a tyre packer roller, raising the hopper at the end of a bout activates a brake system to prevent any run-on of fertiliser.
The rear unit can be considered to be a standard grain-only drill in the form of the Amazone AD or RPD combination drill complete with power harrow. As such, when grain-only drilling is required, the front hopper is left in the shed.
Price of the 3m Airstar Duo starts at £9040 and the 4m, £9180.