Cereals 2015 looms large
Cereals 2015 plays major role in AMAZONE new products launch
Amazone will use Cereals 2015 at Boothby Graffoe as the launch pad for some major new bits of kit in June. The new products on show will encompass the worlds of fertilisation, drilling and soil tillage.
Certos heavy compact disc harrow
Changing rotations, with cover and catch crops now becoming more prevalent as well as maize stubbles leftover from AD plants, means that there is an increasing demand to incorporate higher levels of organic matter at a relatively shallow depth. The need still exists to minimise any deep-down disturbance that may end up promoting grass weed problems and the new Certos heavy compact disc harrow, available in working widths of 4.0, 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0 metres, comes into the range alongside the existing Catros and the Catros+ compact disc harrows which are designed with shallower work in mind. The Certos, with its 660 mm diameter scalloped discs, staggered with an offset of 350mm, offers an angle of attack of 22° in the first row and 17° in the second to ensure a very aggressive operation, an intensive mixing and a good penetration force into the soil. In this way, even on soils with plenty of surface organic matter, an intensive mixing operation is possible.
The proven-Catros system of maintenance-free disc bearings, oil filled with integrated slide seals is also used on the Certos but here, however, the dimensions of the bearings, with an outer diameter 130 mm, are almost twice as big as those on the Catros.
The integrated centre running gear, equipped with 550/45-22.5 or 400/60-22.5 tyres ensures an excellent manoeuvrability of the machine, both in the field and on the road. The position of the running gear guarantees good weight distribution and allows the use of any of AMAZONE’s following rollers – this means the most suitable roller depending on the soil conditions can be utilised. When equipped with an air braking system, it is approved for speeds of up to 40 km/h allowing for quick road transport. The drawbar is sprung-loaded for increased driver comfort whilst in work and travel.
Depth control is carried out via a combination of the rear consolidation roller and the front guide wheels and is adjusted hydraulically, on the move, from the tractor seat. An optional Crushboard can run in front of the discs to level ploughing ahead of the cultivation discs.
Fitted to the 5.0 metre Certos 5001-2TX model which will be on show at Cereals will be the new Matrix 650 KW M wedge ring roller with its ultra-large diameter cleated rubber rings that offer a high degree of targeted consolidation and crumbling as well an improved self-driving ability to help reduce the level of horsepower needed in the field.
The GreenDrill 500 catch crop seeder box will also feature strongly on the Certos as the machine is ideal for sowing intermediate crops following the combine for encouraging blackgrass germination pre-autumn drilling as well as helping with ‘greening’ options for cover crops through to the spring.
Hi-tech ZA-V fertiliser spreader now comes of age
The proven Amazone ZA twin-disc spreading principle, which has been in existence since the late 1950’s, revolutionised the world of spreading with the majority of spreaders on the market now still utilising Heinz Dreyer’s original concept. 750,000 Amazone spreaders on, the new ZA-V spreader maintains those traditions and comes into the fertiliser spreader range beneath the flagship ZA-TS models. The deep-drawn 700 litre seam-free base hopper and Super and Ultra frame options are brought over from the ZA-TS but the V-Spreading system utilises a new simpler aperture, agitation and disc system.
With spreading speeds and working widths increasing, the need to maintain reasonable application rates at high travelling speeds is now paramount. The new aperture is designed for outputs of up to 6.4 kg/sec which is ample for working widths of up to 36 metres and forward speeds of up to 30 km/h in the field. The slow-running, centrally driven agitator shaft can give way when under intense load, preventing damage to the fertiliser, for instance when running around with the shutters switched off. The tear-drop shape of the aperture is designed to handle the fertiliser tightly onto the centre of the spreading discs reducing both fertiliser shatter and any influence of spread rate on spread pattern – avoiding what is known in the trade as ‘quantity-effect’. Spreading widths vary from 10 m through to 36 m using a choice of V-Set 1, V-Set 2 or V-Set 3 discs depending on tramline width. The wider two sets of discs come with hard-face blades for an increased spreading life as standard.
The hopper options are 1700 l & 2000 l in narrow widths and 2200 l, 2700 l and 3200 l through to 4200 litres in wide widths with either an additional 600 or 800 litre extension available where payload allows. The two frame weights offer payloads of 3200 kg or 4500 kg on the Super and Ultra frames respectively. The new roll-over hopper cover can be either manually or hydraulically actuated from choice.
When it comes to considering the operating systems, the ZA-V Control offers a simple speed-related spread rate adjustment via the new AMASPREAD+ in-cab terminal. Weigh-cells are an option on the Tronic model and where communication is via ISOBUS utilising one of AMAZONE’s ISOBUS controllers, such as AMATRON 3, CCI 100 or Amapad, or via a third party ISOBUS terminal which maybe already fitted in the tractor.
Headland spread is via the new Limiter V+ which, with its three layers of lamella flights, can be adjusted electrically for height from the seat on the move to fine-tune the distance and thickness of throw to the hedge. The in-cab box has three memories for the Limiter so that a choice of side spreading for maximum yield down to a water-course setting for avoiding fertiliser loss in rivers and streams can be selected at will from the cab. The ZA-V is driven mechanically via the PTO shaft and yet still offers 8 fold part-width section control either manually or automatically via GPS-Switch. Automating the sectional shut-off makes for savings of 3-5% of your total fertiliser bill per annum and so ensuring the machine pays for itself and even more during its working life.
The new multi-talented AD-P Special power harrow/drill combination
The power harrow drill market is still an important method of establishing cereal crops in Britain and can be used in either a plough-based or min-till scenario. The degree of sophistication, as with all new kit, demanded of a combination is also increasing. Automatic headland shut-off, variable rate seeding, push button in-cab calibration are all must-haves these days.
The new AD-P Special combination drill, in 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 metre working widths, brings over the new metering system, air venturi and fan from the now well-established Cirrus trailed drills. The new blower fan runs much quieter and requires a fraction of the oil needed from the out-going model. The sealed venturi system conveys the seed from the metering roller to the coulter without air loss and even the entry-level AD-P Special is equipped with electric metering drive as standard. Speed source is either via radar, guide wheel, GPS or tractor source and is controlled by a choice of AMADRILL+ or AMATRON 3 depending on circumstances; calibration on either can be done at the press of a button in the cab. On the AMATRON 3, the new Comfort-Pack TwinTerminal 3.0 is available which offers a secondary terminal down at the metering roller so that all the calibration procedure can be done from ground-level. TwinTerminal 3.0 is held magnetically to the hopper and can be placed away in a safe position once the calibration procedure is finished.
Hopper sizes are 850 litres or 1250 litres with an optional extension to 1100 or 1500 litres respectively, a new roll-over cover seals the hopper contents from dust and wet. The low, wide tanks are ideal for filling from big bags and offer easy access for cleaning. The new loading board and steps ensure more safety and convenience for the operator.
The new tramlining system now offers a choice of up to 5 coulters blocked off each side for the best use of any tyre equipment on the crop husbandry tractors following on. Seed pipe monitoring is available for all rows if required and the system senses not just a blockage but a change in the average seed rate and thus monitors the output of the whole drill as well as individual rows. Tramline rows are identified automatically.
The new RoTeC Control coulter system has been reworked to provide a new bearing pivot system to prevent the side-forces on the coulter disc trying to pair rows up at the higher forward speeds. This system again is taken from the well-proven Cirrus 03. Row spacing remains as a choice of either 12.5 cm or 16.6 cm on both the WS suffolk and the RoTeC disc coulter; the new hydraulic coulter pressure can be used to automatically increase seed rate when the extra coulter pressure is applied – ideal for areas of the field where heavier soil types dictate the need for a few more seeds/m2.
The all-new Roller harrow can now contour follow in extremes of soil conditions over a range of +/- 100mm for optimum seed/soil contact and offers better reconsolidation. In wet conditions the press rollers can be easily swung out of the way leaving the drag tine harrow only for seed coverage.
LED lighting for the working area is also an option for the new AD-P Special
Also, in the Sprays & Sprayers ring will be a 36m Pantera 4502 self-propelled as well as the UX4200 Super also in 36m and a 24m UF 1801 & FT 1001.
Please feel free to come and visit us on Stand 4 and talk to the harvest to harvest specialists. A warm welcome awaits you there.