Lemken Rubin 9

The design of the German-built Lemken Rubin 9 disc cultivator is different from most of the others in the Irish Farmers Journal group test. The aim is ultimately the same though – to be able to cultivate at different depths in a variety of conditions. Lemken uses 24 620mm discs across two rows.

The Rubin 9 can work at up to 6in deep and its large-diameter discs provide a bigger footprint, overlapping at shallow depths of 2in or less.

The discs have a rake angle of 20°, which provides a scoop effect to lift the soil and roots out of the ground. Each disc is mounted on slender legs profiled to provide maximum clearance for trash between leg and disc.

Lemken also uses coil spring suspension on each leg as opposed to the rubber units used on the other machines (with the exception of Maschio). Lemken claims the spring design gives rapid return to work when clearing an obstacle, but the design also allows the leg a lot of movement to clear an obstacle.

The headstock features multiple adjustments to suit different tractors and to provide the correct three-point linkage geometry to pull the machine into the ground. The outer discs are also adjustable to help create a level finish.

At the rear of the demo machine is a double cage roller.

Also available is single cage and knife rollers. Standard build is with double straw harrows, which Lemken says slows down the soil at high speeds while also incorporating straw and breaking clods. The lateral limiters on the demo machine are an option.

From an operational point of view, the first obvious item to point out is the length of the machine. It is 3.5m long and the only harrow in this test with the tandem roller fitted.

Setting the harrow to work at 3in involved adjusting the depth pin on both rollers and altering the top link. Speed seems to be the key for performance.

We travelled at 12km/h, and the machine appeared like it had the potential to travel a little faster.

The discs work in a fixed position at a 17° angle. The large-diameter discs and tandem roller made no impact on fuel consumption – a 19.4 litres/hr reading on the Fendt 516 information terminal averaged over the two runs.

Andy’s view in the field

Shallow: Looked OK, but an amount of the vegetation was still rooted in the ground, especially the green material. A lot of the cut material was still upright rather than lying.

Deep: Had no difficulty getting down to the 5in depth and this had much better general incorporation in the soil. Obviously worked at higher speed than some other machines. This depth feels a bit soft.

The Lemken plot showed good undercut and mixing with really good trash incorporation in the double pass. Again, shallow passes to the left and deeper ones to the centre and right of the picture.

Double pass: Very good finish. Excellent trash burial. Firmer than the single deep pass. There was a lot of soil well cultivated.

The Kverneland disc cultivator in action with a roller mechanism behind. It left a nice ridged finish.

Kverneland Qualidisc Pro 3000

Kverneland Ireland brought the Qualidisc Pro 3000 to the group test. Standard configuration is two rows of 12 discs, each with a diameter of 570mm.

A farmer version of the Qualidisc has slightly smaller discs at 520mm.

Kverneland uses one disc per leg and one leg per mounting bracket or suspension unit. Each suspension unit also incorporates a pressed stop in the mounting bracket.

All discs are 6mm thick and are heat-treated to increase lifespan.

The discs are dished, but have a straight not a concave cutting profile. The Qualidisc also features lateral disc adjustment to compensate for disc wear.

Combined with the straight profile of the disc, John Colgan from Kverneland Ireland explained that the disc-cutting angle can be maintained throughout the life of the disc.

At the rear, the firm’s Actipack roller is standard.

A hydraulic ram to the roller provides working depth adjustment, which is set with flip-over spacers on the hydraulic ram. Kverneland also incorporates roller scraper adjustment as standard.

Side-mounted lateral deflectors are standard, so there are no discs used for levelling. Options include knives between the discs on the packer, a finger harrow and a seed box.

From the driver’s seat, this machine appears to work very evenly in the ground with very little ridging between passes. Adjustments for depth are made hydraulically, which is standard spec on the machine.

This was one of the most easily adjustable machines on test, with lateral and vertical adjustment on the disc.

The harrow had one of the lowest fuel figures at 18.2 litres/hr, with only the Horsch lower (18 litres/hr). The harrow was again operated at 12km/h and worked well with no signs of any clogging of material.

Andy’s view in the field

Shallow: Did a good job of cutting in the 2in to 3in bracket. All of the vegetation was cut and the regrowth was moderately well shaken. The loosened soil was loose so it could dry out, but it was firm to walk on.

Deep: Cut at 4+in and made plenty of loose soil. There was a bit less stubble protruding, but this was certainly not clean. It was quite firm, which is useful and important.

This plot was cultivated by the Kverneland with the two shallow passes to the left, the two deeper passed to the centre and right and a double pass (light and deep) on the right with less trash showing.

Double pass: Generated plenty of soil and was visibly cleaner with less vegetation on top. It left a good, firm finish.

New to the market is the Mandam unit imported by DH Farm Machinery in Gort, Co Galway. The machine has a basic depth adjustment against the rear roller height and came with 22 discs, each 560mm in diameter.

Mandam GAL-C

DH Farm Machinery, Co Galway, brought the Polish-built Mandam range of disc cultivators, with working widths from 2.5m to 8m.

The 2.5m and 3m machines are sold as mounted to suit tractors from 80hp up.

The 4m and wider variants can be mounted or supplied with a lifting frame and drawbar. The firm says it offers a very attractive 0% finance deal over three years.

On test was the 3m Mandam GAL-C with two rows of discs, 22 in total, and a rear cage-type roller. This machine was fitted with 620mm scalloped discs, but 565mm discs are also available. There are a variety of rear roller options including V-ring, C-ring, T-ring, DD, Packer with paddles and more. Each disc is individually mounted on its own leg and each leg has its own rubber suspension unit. Disc-bearing hubs are oil-filled, maintenance-free units

Depth control of the discs is the only setting on the GAL-C. This is done by positioning pins in the rear roller frame to suit the desired working depth.

Side deflectors and outside discs fold up for road transport.

This disc is easy to use, with only depth adjustable on the rear cage roller.

The machine worked very well at the selected speed, burning only 18.9 litres/hr in operation.

There seemed to be no problem with any blockages, but it did appear at times to leave a little green material standing. This disc was the least expensive of all on test.

The Mandam cultivator left a relatively dirty finish but this would look better if the machine was operated faster in stubble.

Andy’s view in the field

Shallow: This cut was a bit shallower and some cuts were just kicked sideways rather than shaken. Did not cut well behind the tractor wheels. Much of the stubble was left standing, so this area looked dirty.

This Mandam machine would have done better work if it moved quicker but it is a relatively light machine and appeared to have difficulty getting the required depth.

Deep: This machine did not get down to the desired depth, which left it looking particularly dirty. And the bottom of the cut was quite scalloped rather than relatively flat.

Double pass: This looked much better, but it did not hit the required depth. But it was cleaner and had a better and more finished appearance.

The Vaderstad Carrier 300 demonstrated by Cooney Furlong Machinery was fitted with 24 discs each 450mm in diameter. The machine was fitted with additional weights and is designed for a working depth of up to 100mm.

Vaderstad Carrier 300

The Swedish Vaderstad Carrier 300 was demonstrated by Cooney Furlong Machinery Ltd.

The Vaderstad Carrier 300 is the baby of the Carrier range and has been around since 1999.

The Carrier 300 uses 22 450mm convex, serrated discs, 11 on each row. Paschal Twomey from Cooney Furlong says the smaller discs make for a finer seedbed at shallower depths.

There is one disc per suspension unit with each disc running on sealed-for-life, maintenance-free, greased bearings.

Depth adjustment is hydraulic, with depth stops on the hydraulic depth ram to the 550mm-diameter SteelRunner packer roller.

Other roller options include the firm’s RubberRunner and CageRunner. The packer roller bearings are mounted in rubber suspension hubs, which increase the life of the bearing massively according to Paschal.

There is a lateral adjuster on the front row of discs to compensate for disc wear. The conical shape of the disc means the cut angle stays the same as it wears, according to Paschal.

To cater for different ground conditions, there are three weight options – no weights for working in a stale seedbed 2in to 3in down, 10 40kg weights for deeper working and 20 40kg weights for the likes of grass reseeding.

The machine on test had 20 weights added, so it should have no problem cutting in. Again, the height setting was easily carried out hydraulically by removing or adding spacers to the ram.

It would have been a nice feature to have an indication of the working depth like some of the other machines.

The machine is very neat behind the tractor, at only 2m length.

There was no difficulty with the test tractor at 12km/h burning 20 litres/hr of fuel. The toplink was in a slotted hole to allow it to float.

The Vaderstad does not have big undercutting discs but it did a good cutting job and gave quite good burial on the double run.

Andy’s view in the field

Shallow: This machine worked relatively deep and was all well cut, with more than 3in of soil loosened. It appeared to give a bit more mixing and the stubble left on top was lying flat. The finish was slightly ridged.

Deep: Did not cut down to the 5in depth, but it gave good mixing of trash and a respectable appearance.

Double pass: This gave good mixing and burial, but the finish was not deep enough. The overall job was not very level.

The Pottinger Terradisc 3001 comes from Pottinger Ireland in Clonmel with a combination of hydraulic and mechanical working depth adjustment of its 24 discs. Disc diameter is 580mm and they are fixed with the benefit of a neat outer folding system for transport.

Pöttinger Terradisc 3001

Pöttinger Ireland Ltd brought its ultra-modern looking Pöttinger Terradisc 3001 to the Irish Farmers Journal group test. Like much of the competition, it features two rows of 12 scalloped discs.

Each disc is mounted on maintenance-free, sealed twin race angular contact bearings with special seal and steel seal protection.

Pöttinger mounts two discs on each suspension unit with a forged arm for each disc welded on to the suspension unit. The profile of the forged arm follows the curve of the disc to keep clearance between disc and arm at a maximum.

Working depth is adjusted hydraulically and set by flip-over spacers. The outside discs fold up hydraulically for road transport.

Only one double-acting tractor hydraulic service is needed because the Terradisc 3001 has a rope-operated changeover valve.

At the rear of the demo 3001 was a ring pack roller. Combined with the knife packer roller, it is the most popular option in Ireland according to Pöttinger. There are more options available including cage, double-cage and conical ring roller.

The three-point linkage of the 3001 is adjustable to facilitate short top-linkage usage and optimum draft-geometry across a broad variety of tractors.

From an operational point of view, this machine was a little different with the stabilisers set to a fixed position to work the machine.

Also, the toplink was placed in the slotted hole to allow the machine float over uneven ground.

The machine had hydraulic depth adjustment and what we really liked was the changeover valve to fold the machine in for road transport. The tractor did crab a little when we had our stabiliser incorrectly set.

Again, speed again is the key here, as the faster we drove, the better the finish looked. The tractor burned 21.4 litres/hr of fuel over the passes we completed.

This work done by the Pottinger TerraDisc has the shallow cuts to the right, the deeper ones to the centre and left and the double run on the left has visibly less trash showing. The deeper runs in the centre were only at about four inches so there was less soil to bury the trash. But this machine was well capable of cutting to any required depth.

Andy’s view in the field

Shallow: This machine worked in the 2in to 3in band, but produced good to excellent undercut. Stubble was cut and left lying.

Deep: This was all well cut, but there was a fair bit of stubble showing on top. Ridges behind the machine were obvious from the roller press.

This relatively clean finish is following two runs of the TerraDisc, one at two inches and a second at five inches, both done at speed.

Double pass: This gave a very clean finish, but it was slightly soft to walk on.

This heavy Maschio UFO 300 disc harrow from WBD Farm Machinery, Ballyboughal, Co Dublin, comes with strong pig-tail type disc springs on all 22 discs. The discs are 610mm in diameter and are fixed with working height adjusted mechanically.

Maschio UFO 300

From Italian manufacturer Maschio was the UFO 300 disc cultivator.

Big, strong and simple, the UFO 300 featured 24 large (610mm) scalloped coarse and concave discs.

According to Alan Dunne from importers WBD Farm Machinery Ltd, this is the best version for grass and tillage applications (a finer disc is also available).

Each disc is mounted on its own robust-looking pigtail spring leg. Alan explains that this design allows the leg to move not just up and down but also sideways to navigate bedrock or away from difficult obstacles.

The double pigtail springs on which the individual cutting discs are mounted.

There is one disc per pig-tailed leg and the bearing mounting is Maschio’s Cultihub unit, which features double angular ball-contact bearings. These run in an oil bath and are sealed from the outside world by multiple steel and flexible seals. Maschio guarantees these units for 10,000ha.

The UFO is quite heavy at 2.3t, so does not need additional weight added to penetrate the ground. And it is ideal for higher horsepower tractors. Maschio offers a smaller Presto version with rubber torsion suspension for smaller tractors.

On the rear of the demo machine was a 550mm diameter caged crumbler roller, which Alan said is the most popular option. Also available are rubber, ring and double cage rollers.

Depth adjustment is made by moving pin stops in the frame attaching the roller to the disc unit.

This machine and the Rubin 9 seem to have a similar design, with large sprung discs.

The Maschio had the least problems of all the machines when biting into the ground. The depth is controlled by the rear cage roller and the angle of the toplink.

The Maschio was the second-heaviest machine on test, with only the Gregoire Besson heavier. From a fuel point of view, this machine was the heaviest user at 22 litres/hr.

However, there was a lot of work being carried out by the machine in the soil.

The Machio disc had no difficulty cutting and churning soil to depth. As with the other plots the two shallow runs can be seen on the left, the deeper pair in the centre (still a lot of trash on top) and there are two double passes on the right that have less trash showing.

Andy’s view in the field

Shallow: This machine gave a 3+in cut and it did a good mixing job with both stubble and regrowth. A good solid finish, which was loose and soft on top.

Deep: No difficulty getting the depth, trash burial was good and the regrowth was well broken up. The finish was firm, despite the cut being deep.

Double pass: Well cultivated with good trash burial. A clean finish with most of the greenery gone. This pass was a bit softer.

Conclusions

  • The type of disc needed is based on the finish of work required.
  • Some discs are capable of performing both tasks for stubble cultivation and creating a seedbed.
  • The amount of fuel burned is not really a big factor in the decision, but rather the work carried out by the disc.
  • The four-cylinder Fendt 516 at 165hp had ample power to cope with a 3m machine in stubble conditions.
  • The size of the disc is less important than the angle of operation to lift and cut material.
  • The packer rollers on some machines did leave a firmer finish compared with cage rollers.
  • The speed of operation needs to be at least 12km/h for the majority of these machines.