Swedish alternative
Swedish alternative
SWEDISH farm machinery maker Vaderstad hopes to attract smaller farms to its reduced tillage disc drill concept with the 3m (9ft 10in) wide, tractor linkage mounted Rapid-30.
Like its trailed big brother – the Rapid-F – the new drill is designed to reduce the number of cultivation passes needed between ploughing and sowing, and to eliminate the need for a post-drill rolling operation.
"With two rows of spring tines across the front of the machine, serrated disc coulters and rubber press wheels across the back, one tractor and a Rapid-30 drill can replace a team of three tractors and implements in the field," claims Christer Stark of Vaderstad. "It is a real alternative to expensive power harrow-based drilling systems."
Although similar in concept to the trailed Rapid drill, changes have been made to keep down weight and keep the drill more compact to suit its mounted configuration. A novel cable and pulley coulter tensioning system is used to help achieve these aims.
In addition to a choice of leading cultivator elements, the Rapid-30 can be had as a seed-only unit, or as a combined seed and fertiliser drill with fertiliser delivered down the seed spout or through separate coulters.