HORSCH has
revealed its advanced coulter control system, AutoForce, that automatically
adjusts coulter pressure on the move to varying soil conditions. Drill
operators typically set coulter pressure to their heaviest soil conditions, but
detailed research by Horsch has revealed this can lead to increased compaction
when moving into lighter soils.
The 300kg per
row unit coulter pressure on the Horsch Maestro maize drill is the highest in
the industry. This is ideal for heavy land but the research, conducted across
Europe in the past three years, has shown a more even seed germination by
reducing coulter pressure in lighter soils. Using hydraulic rams, AutoForce is
the only system available to continuously adapt coulter pressure while drilling
to prevent compaction on light land or reduced sowing depth on heavy land.
Buckinghamshire-based
Robert Tuckwell Contractors were one of the first in Europe to have the system
fitted when they took delivery of a new 12m Maestro 16 SW in 2016. Drilling
more than 3200 acres of maize to feed two local anaerobic digester plants, the
contractors were impressed with the Maestro drill and the large increase in
capacity it offered over their existing 8-row 6m drill.
“AutoForce was
not a feature that we specified when choosing the Maestro and I was initially
sceptical of its value,” admits Scott Hosking, main drill operator for Robert
Tuckwell. “However, having worked with it for a season I would certainly
specify it on my next drill.”
Autoforce uses
sensors to monitor two 8-row sections on the 16-row machine. Separate hydraulic
arms provide down pressure for each section, enabling the dedicated software to
adapt each section independently. The system, which can also be specified as
one section for smaller machines, maintains accurate seed depth placement at
higher speeds and offers greater control over the standard system that provides
uniform pressure across all rows.
“We have a wide
range of soil types to consider and often we would set the drill to a heavier
soil only to find the coulters would become buried on the lighter land,”
explains Scott. Horsch’s engineers enhanced the system response time during the
season allowing it to react to change more rapidly.
“Now, with AutoForce
in place, we can maintain our desired drilling depth of 2.5 to 3 inches far
more easily and it has also allowed us to increase our speed too. We run about
8kph in heavy clay pushing up to 12kph when the seed-bed condition allows, and
all with a seed placement accuracy of 98% or above,” adds Scott. Maize is
renowned for its lazy root structure and ensuring accurate seed and fertiliser
placement is essential for good yields.
Covering 160
acres per day with the Maestro, the drill has improved the contractor’s
logistics operations too. “We can get about 120 acres of seed in the tank which
means we only need one top-up during the day. We have also moved to big bag
seed and big bag micro-granular fertiliser which has further simplified
operations,” says Scott.
“The presence
of such a big drill on some of the smaller farms raised concerns to start with
but once they saw how even the planting was and how good the crop looked, we
haven’t had any complaints. I think AutoForce has certainly enhanced the seed
placement,” concludes Scott.
Notes to
Editors
