Industry
Easy calibration with the slide out tray on the Vredo Compact
The Blec Disc Seeder and Raycam Aeraseeder have a generous hopper size, giving the capacity to seed multiple pitches
in mind as some of the larger, heavier disc seeders are best pulled by tractors of 60hp or more, especially on undulating ground such as fairways. Kits to adapt seeders to be trailed behind the towing unit rather than mounted can cut horsepower requirement or, in some cases, even allow use with a utility vehicle.
A very low hopper on the Sisis Variseeder for easy manual loading
The Pitchcare test venue
Founded in 1495, Loughborough Endowed Schools comprises a high school and Fairfield Preparatory School, accommodating 2,000 pupils from four to eighteen years old. Sports facilities are on two
Seed slots on the Rotadairon seeder are firmed with individual rubber press wheels
sites: one on the main school campus with forty-two acres offering a fifteen track cricket wicket, thirteen bay grass practice nets, three junior strips, two small athletic pitches, hard tennis courts and a recently renovated astroturf hockey pitch. At this site, head groundsperson Chris Parry's team also maintain the tree lined walks and gardens and three quads. At the second site, Quorn,
The Vredo Super Compact is a trailed machine so can be used with smaller tractors.
situated two miles away, there are a further forty acres of sportsgrounds in a seventy acre site, with six rugby pitches, four football pitches, three cricket squares, a full size grass athletics field and eight bay grass practice nets. Plenty to keep them busy. Chris, who has been at the
A step helps with access for filling on taller, high capacity hoppers as on this Blec Disc Seeder
Disc seeders, such as the Blec machine, put seeds securely in the ground away from threats by the wind and birds
school for three years after moving from Warwick University, explains: “The sportsfields at Quorn were constructed in 1996 on a levelled site with a sandy rootzone. There is drainage at 5m centres and 1m secondary drainage, which helps in wet years. We can water the cricket pitches, but there is no full irrigation system.” Renovations have recently
been brought in-house after a period with a contractor and Chris is developing on an exacting regime to get the best out of the turf. “Previously, renovations were
just made to the worst pitches rather than rotating them. We now aim to do two major overseeds a year - at Easter for the cricket pitches and in the summer holidays on the winter pitches. Using slow release fertiliser, applying only twice a year, has replaced more regular applications of granular products, and we regularly scarify and solid tine during the winter months to improve the condition of the sward.” Chris has also switched cricket
pitch renovations from July to September to improve efficiency and put in place a fertiliser and maintain regime. All this activity has required the school’s grounds department to invest in its own machinery, and Chris is gradually building up the fleet. An overseeder is very
much on the shopping list, so Loughborough Endowed Schools was the ideal venue for Pitchcare’s trials. “We would like to overseed
little and often, so the spiked roller design which flicks seeds into the holes looks ideal, although I know germination rates are not as high as for a disc seeder,” Chris comments. “Price is also a consideration and the disc machines tend to be more expensive.” The trials took place in early
April in ideal conditions, reports Chris. “We had some rain at the start of the week so the soil was moist, with a binding texture and the ground soft. It then turned dry and sunny.”
Views on the machines
Few of Chris’s team had much experience with seeders, so they took time to look through the instruction manuals and familiarise themselves with the machines. They also went through the manufacturers’ calibration procedures according to the manuals. “Most of the manuals were
very easy to use,” Chris comments. “All of the machines worked well; the operator’s preferences were often down to how easy the seeders were to set up and use, time taken to cover the required area and how quickly they could get to grips with a new machine.”
Two rows of tines on the front of the Amazone GNK prepare the ground.
14 I PC JUNE/JULY 2014
Gravity weighted brush on the Raycam Aeraseeder
The Blec Multiseeder has a spiked roller to produce a ‘seedbed’ and adjustable brush to sweep the seeds into the holes.
A smooth front roller on the Rotadairon firms the seedbed ahead of the seeding discs
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