Amazone at Tillage Live 2012
2012-09-14

Tillage-Live this year makes it way up north to Haddington in the Borders (by kind permission of Hamilton Farming Enterprises). Last time Tillage was up in this part of the world in 2009 there was an excellent turn out and hopefully the new Tillage-Live format, with its unique formula of knowledge trail, demo arena, sprayer driving area and precision farming ring, will appeal again to farmers both north and south of the border.

The Catros+ compact disc harrow
is the ideal tool in the fight against blackgrass

On Plot 7, Amazone will take the opportunity to show off a selection of cultivation and drilling tackle with their sprayers nearby on Plot 101. In the demo arena will be the Catros 4001-2 TS compact disc harrow and the Citan 6000 solo drill with a first for seed drills, automated headland shut-off.

Stubble chitting post-combining pays dividends

Many questions are going to be asked of cultivation equipment manufacturers at this year’s demonstration as farms across the country are starting to suffer more and more from increasing blackgrass populations. The traditional move in Britain away from ploughing to a one pass, deep cultivation system with tines that lift the ground followed by cutting discs and then a rear packer is being proved again and again as the route to increasing grass weed problems. Amazone have been at the forefront of the ‘shallow & often’ approach to autumn cultivations. A pass with a spe-cialist shallow stubble chitting tool such as the Catros or Catros+ compact disc harrow, which is unique on the market with its adjustable stagger between the front and rear row of discs, makes sure the total surface is completely moved, even at depths of less than 5cm. This gives the best possible stale seedbed conditions and, to make sure the maximum time is utilised between combining and drilling, this first pass is done as soon as the combine leaves the field. If necessary, a second pass can be done with the Catros after a dose of glyphosate to allow for a second green-up. The Catros+ 4001-2TS at Tillage-Live, with a mounted GreenDrill 500 catch crop seeder, will be working to show off how to get the perfect stale seedbed.

Primary soil tillage pass provides the soil structure and the straw mix

The deeper, soil structure pass, which also ensures that the crop residues are thoroughly mixed rather than the soil just being loosened, is carried out prior to drilling to maximise soil moisture retention and maintain weather-safe drilling. This secondary pass can be done with either the trailed Centaur tine & disc combination cultivator or the Cenius three stagger mulch cultivator. At Tillage-Live, the Cenius 4002-2 Super mulch cultivator, with its 3-D trip legs on a spacing of 27cm and a tip to tip distance of 75 cm, will be in use making the perfect seedbed ahead of AMAZONE’s ‘Amazing’ new trailed drill range of Citan and Cayena-C. Of course, Amazone’s top-selling power harrow - drill combinations will also be represented.

The Citan 6000 solo seeder from Amazone
is equipped with GPS-Switch

Solo drills strive to decrease grass weed carryover

In the larger arable areas, the drift away from cultivator drills is being driven by the need to leave seedbeds as undisturbed as possible during drilling thus preventing a fresh flush of weeds being generated that can compete with the emerging seedlings. The narrow chisel opener on the Cayena, or the RoTeC+ Control 25 single disc coulter on the Citan 6000, both of which are on a 16.6cm row spacing, means that the amount of soil being moved by the drill is kept to an absolute minimum. End users of the Cayena have commented on the fact that there is less weed carryover following the Amazone tine seeder. Plus, coupled with the low draft requirement of the drill, that makes it especially economical to run. We have to remember that cultivation comes cheaper than ineffectual chemical techniques, so it pays to make the most of every establishment method, including delaying the drilling or even spring drilling to maximise the benefit of a stale seedbed.

Amazone tine seeder Cayena-C
is now available with grain and fert

Grain & fert drilling makes a come back

The Cayena 6001-C on show will again be seen working in the field for the first time. Launched at LAMMA 2012, the Cayena-C offers a pressurised 4000 litre seed hopper split 1/3 : 2/3 between grain and fertiliser. The twin materials, with up to 400 kg/ha of grain and fert, are then fired down the same pipe to the TineTec chisel opener and placed in the same furrow for an enhanced germination of rape, spring corn or for aiding root development by making Phosphate available to the emerging seedling in the autumn.

More automation for drills to ease operator stress

And another first for Amazone at Tillage-Live will be the option of the GPS-Switch automated headland shut-off system on the Citan 6000, making this drill the first of its kind to offer an automated stop and stop of the metering system when approaching the field headland. This will play a major part in preventing lodging on headlands as well as saving money on seed corn costs.

Sprayers on parade as well

On the spraying front, Amazone Ltd will be showing off their range of both UX trailed and UF mounted sprayers. The UF1801 mounted sprayer will also include a FT1001 front tank, with its unique FlowControl electronic liquid transfer system for automatic filling, mixing and transferring of the spray agent cocktail. End users have the oppor-tunity to come and drive the sprayers for themselves. This gives the ideal chance to familiarise themselves with what in-cab terminals are available and the level of sophistication that is required before placing an order.

Tillage Live takes place on Wednesday 3rd October at Westfield, Haddington, East Lothian, EH41 4HQ.

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