Fertilisers & Spreaders The top model in Amazone’s ZG-TS ProfisPlus trailed spreader range has 10,000-litre hopper capacity.
Power on the land The topic of this month’s Power on the Land is fertiliser and slurry application, brought to you by Mike Williams. Farming efficiency has been making impressive progress, and fertiliser spreading is an example of the way accuracy can be achieved by using improved technology. Fertiliser is an expensive input, and accurate application is an essential requirement for achieving maximum benefit in terms of yield, as well as improving factors such as uniformity of crop growth to simplify harvesting plus the ability to control the spread pattern near field boundaries. Accuracy features on some Centerliner series spreaders from Teagle Farm Machinery include Easytronic, using advanced electronic control equipment that constantly checks the spread rate from the hopper, comparing this with the forward speed to monitor the application rate. Easytronic is on the recently introduced Centerliner SXe spreaders, and the SXi specification also has two weigh cells measuring the weight change as fertiliser leaves the hopper. Easytronic can also include a special system for managing the spreader at the headland, and adding a GPS link can add variable rate application to the functions list. There is also an agitator option to reduce blockage risks when applying materials such as grass seed. Teagle Centerliner spreaders
are made in Holland, with up to 3,650-litre hopper capacity, but Teagle also offers the smaller XT series – the only tractor-mounted spreaders currently made in the UK. The entry-level XT20 model has a hopper holding 660 litres and a single disc giving a 12m spread, and the twin-disc XT24 and XT48 spreaders have 675 and 1,350-litre capacity respectively and 12m maximum spread. Features that help to achieve accuracy on the Polaris spreaders from Lemken include the Fertiway system that adjusts the fertiliser drop point on to the spinning discs to alter the spread width while minimising damage to the granules, and the spreading vanes on the discs are based on Lemken’s Epsilon design, offering accuracy over a wide range of spread widths. Special spread control arrangements when working close to field boundaries include the Tribord 3D system with a choice of three spread modes, and Polaris 14 series spreaders are available with Econov using a GPS link, giving spread control over 16 width sections. There are nine Polaris 12 and 14 series models with hopper capacities from 1,500–4,000 litres and with spread widths in the 12–50m range. Lemken spreaders also include the mid-range Tauri models with
36m maximum spread width and up to 3,000-litre hopper size, and there are five of the smaller Spica 8 models holding up to 2,100 litres and offering up to 24m maximum spread. A special feature developed for ZA-M series twin disc spreaders from Amazone is EasySet – an on-board computer that simplifies control from the cab. Functions include push-button operation of the shutter slides, allowing each aperture to be opened or closed while at the
headland, and in a wedge-shaped field the driver can individually activate either the right- or the left-hand side, with lights on the terminal indicating if the shutter slides are open or closed. EasySet can also be used to adjust application rates individually, with the display automatically showing the selected aperture size. Amazone’s ZA-M spreader series is available with 1,000, 1,200 continued over…
The XT series from Teagle Machinery is the only UK-built mounted spreader range.
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