for a UKmarket invasion
All set
for a UKmarket invasion
On its own admission,
Amazones entry into the
mini-till machinery market
may have been late, but it
now believes it has the
equipment to make a
significant inroad into this
expanding market.
Andy Collings reports from
the companys Leipzig
plant, Germany
CENTAUR, Catros, Cirrus – 3C Technology from Amazone, a company which now says it now has the cultivators and drill equipment to challenge the UK dominance of Vaderstad and Simba.
This year will see the introduction of the new Centaur and Catros cultivators and the Cirrus drill. All three implements have been designed to accommodate a minimal tillage regime on a wide variety of soil types and conditions.
Both the Centaur and the Catros cultivators are built at Amazones Leipzig plant, the home of implement maker BBG, which was acquired by Amazone in 1998 to provide the company with greater access to the developing eastern European markets.
With working widths from 3m to 7.5m and power requirements from 120hp to 300hp, the trailed Centaur is claimed to be an implement suitable for all scales of arable operation.
The weight and, as a result working depth, is supported on front and rear press units – tyres at the front and rubber wedge press wheels at the rear.
Four rows of tines provide an overall spacing of 20cm. These are followed by two rows of levelling discs and the rear press.
Tine share options extend to those for shallow first-pass stubble work, mixing shares for subsequent passes and loosening shares for deeper work up to 25cm.
With convenient knock-on, knock-off shares Amazone believes operators will be prepared to swap shares accordingly.
A change to the style of discs brings two sets of concave discs which also have a form of shock absorber. This comprises solid rubber tubes placed in the disc arms connecting point with the main frame.
Amazone recommends the first pass of the Centaur should be no more than 5-10cm deep so that an element of straw incorporation is achieved and volunteer seeds are encouraged to germinate. Successive passes with different share options results, says the company, in a seed bed with well-incorporated straw, but with the top friable soil still unburied and moisture preserved.
The future could see the working depth of the Centaur being automatically adjusted in respect of soil type as it travels across a field.
Using GPS-aided soil mapping technology, the implement depth can be automatically adjusted through the activation of hydraulic rams.
As with several other field mapping systems just where the cultivator should be working deeper or shallower – and for what reasons – is not immediately clear, but scientists and agronomists are said to be working on this problem.
What is clear, though, is that if good reason could be found to reduce cultivation depth in certain parts of the field, there is a chance to save fuel and wear.
The tractor-mounted Catros cultivator has been designed for shallow stubble cultivation and comprises two sets of concave discs followed by a wedge-wheel rear press unit. This latter component is also responsible for controlling the working depth which, typically, will be in the 3-13cm range.
Disc design is identical to that of the Centaur with rubber shock absorbers allowing individual discs to follow ground contours. Only available in 6m width, there are plans to introduce 3.4 and 5m models later.
With the seed-bed prepared, it is time to wheel in the third component of Amazones 3C Technology system.
The pneumatic Cirrus drill, with its 8m and 9m builds is big by any standards. Requiring a minimum of 280hp to operate as a drill only, 400hp is recommended when an optional disc cultivation system is fitted and in operation.
In short, this is a drill for the big boys and a direct challenge to the larger machines which dominate this lucrative market.
Amazone believes the Cirrus scores in its coulter system. Drawing on Amazone principles employed in pre-pneumatic drill days, press wheels supporting the weight of the drill level and reconsolidate the soil directly in front of the seed coulters.
This offers three advantages, says Amazone: The sowing depth is constant due to the coulter operating in firm and level soil, the seed/soil contact is good, and all-important soil moisture is retained for even germination.
And Amazone claims these advantages are maintained even when drilling at speeds up to 16kph.
Each press wheel is connected directly to two disc coulters, one set behind the other and a drill width apart. A parallel linkage connection system, combined with a spring overload protects the discs from stone damage and ensures an even coulter depth across the width of the drill.
Hopper capacity is 5000 litres – about 4t – which when loaded brings the gross weight of a 9m model to 11.5t when the disc option has been taken.
Amazone says it intends to hold a series of demonstrations with the Cirrus drill in the UK this year, with a view to having models available commercially for next years season. Prices, says the company, will be competitive. *
Amazones Cirrus drill uses the companys pre-pneumatic drill building technology to press soil before the seed is planted.
400hp+ provides the power to operate the Centaur cultivator.
Wedge-wheel press for the 6m wide Catros which, with its two banks of concave discs, is designed for shallow stubble cultivation to encourage weed and volunteer germination.