First pneumatic drill for grain & fertiliser due from Vaderstad
16 November 2001
First pneumatic drill for grain & fertiliser due from Vaderstad
VADERSTAD is set to launch its first pneumatic grain and fertiliser drill – a development it believes will find favour in Scotland and southern Ireland where spring-sown malting barley predominates.
The 4m RDA400M has a 3200 litre hopper divided into two 1600 litre sections, one for fertiliser and the other for grain.
Fertiliser is metred by a variable speed stainless steel auger, and grain by Vaderstads Fenix metering system. Both grain and fertiliser enter the same airstream and are conveyed to the coulters along single tubes.
Power for the fan is provided by the towing tractors hydraulic supply with the exhaust oil from the fans motor being used to power the fertiliser feed auger and the grain metering system.
A nice touch is to route the returning oil through a heat exchanger placed at the fan intake. This helps to keep the air dry and prevent any build up of fertiliser in the coulter pipes.
Should grain-only drilling be required, the fertiliser auger can be set to deliver grain stored in the fertiliser compartment to the grain section.
A new control box allows fertiliser and grain application rates to be adjusted on the move – an ability which can be further exploited through the use of field mapping systems.
Included in the control system are facilities such as area and speed recording, seed and fertiliser used, and automatic tramline operation.
As with other Vaderstad drills, the 400M can be used for direct drilling, minimal tilth drilling or for seeding into cultivated land. There is also the same choice of front tools including rigid tines, agrilla tines or two rows of angled discs.
Due to be available next spring in limited numbers, the price of the 400M has yet to be finalised. *
Fertiliser and grain drilling in one can be achieved with the RDA400M.