FERTILISER TECHNOLOGY ▶▶▶ Multiple product application
Equipment dispensing more than one prod- uct at the same time is an alternative to blended fertilisers. The multiple-bin ap- proach is commonplace in North America. Manufacturers such as New Leader, Force Unlimited and Salford’s BBI and Valmar all produce trailed spreaders and removable spreading bodies for field trucks, floaters and row-crop application vehicles, featuring up to four product compartments. These will typically be for two fertilisers or two fertil- isers plus one or two micro-nutrients. The latest Valmar air boom unit from Salford has a two-product (plus micro-nutrient if re- quired) hopper that can be configured with- out tools for different volumes. Where grow- ers and custom operators favour a precision
Variable-rate application (VRA)
This now commonly used technology ac- knowledges the shortcomings of applying fertilisers uniformly across fields exhibiting significant variance in crop performance. The aim is not necessarily to make savings in the quantity of fertiliser used, although that can be the result of using this approach. No, it’s rather to apply the optimum rate of fertiliser where it is needed to make the most of the inherent potential, within identified zones across the field. For nitrogen, real-time sens- ing of crop requirements in the field pro- vides an accurate means of delivering opti- mum rates across fields rather than blanket applications or pre-determined zones.
farming approach to nutrient application, indi- vidual control of the metering mechanisms through a suitable controller enables spreading at different variable rates for two or more prod- ucts. In addition, New Leader’s G5 swath control technology developed in partnership with Ag
Leader provides 16-step automatic section con- trol and half-width spreading to headlands from two broadcasting discs. Amazone’s Front- Rear Duo system uses mounted spreaders car- ried front and back on a tractor, enabling two different materials to be applied in a single pass.
Salford’s Valmar 6700 air boom applicator can spread two fertilisers simultaneously.
Amazone’s Front-Rear Duo system can apply two products with optimum settings.
Spread pattern correction
The effects on a twin disc spreader’s distribu- tion pattern of a 90 degree cross-wind and how Amazone’s WindControl system reacts.
Kuhn Axent 100.1 trailed spreader working with a crop scanning system for real-time control of variable rate nitrogen application.
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Spreading fertiliser over collection trays to check the distribution is an essential pre-cur- sor to a nutrient application season. But with new monitoring systems, the pattern can be checked and adjusted constantly, to ensure the most even distribution possible is always being achieved. Amazone and Rauch have pioneered this with the ArgusTwin and Ax- mat Plus respectively. The latter is available on top-spec spreaders produced by Rauch for worldwide distribution by Kuhn. Both sys- tems use radar for automatic adjustments. Axmat Plus has 27 sensors in an arc beneath each disc. These scan the distribution pattern every four seconds to compensate for chang- ing ambient conditions and also fertiliser
▶ FUTURE FARMING | 24 May 2019
An array of 27 radar sensors beneath each disc monitors the flow of fertiliser off the spreading vanes.
quality and consistency. ArgusTwin uses sev- en sensors above each disc. And with the op- tional slope sensor for the weigh-cells it will adjust the distribution when working up, across and down significant inclines. Wind compensation can also be added to the Ar- gusTwin package, potentially opening up more spreading days. The high-mounted sensor determines the strength and direction of wind. A strong head wind tends to lengthen and narrow the normal spread pattern. Cross-wind shifts it to one side, while also shortening and ex- tending different areas of the pattern. The driver can monitor all this on an Isobus display.
PHOTO: KUHN
PHOTO: AMAZONE
PHOTO: SALFORD
PHOTO: RAUCH
PHOTO: AMAZONE
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