Building on top of its Catros range of compact disc harrows, which currently go up to seven metres working width, Amazone has developed additional larger models.

Now available up to 12m working width, the model shown comprises four folding sections; the two centre sections are 3.5m wide, while the outer two sections are 2.5m wide. All four sections float independently to follow contours.

If more weight is required to aid disc penetration in harder conditions, the two outer sections can be folded up and act as ballast.

Four leading front wheels and the rear roller maintain depth control, while working depth is hydraulically adjustable by pivoting the disc mounting bars.

Several roller options are available and the 13t machine requires about 30hp per metre to pull.

Price is still to be confirmed. Just make sure you are sitting down.

Hardi Mega mounted sprayer

Designed to make the most of today’s higher-powered tractors, Hardi has developed a 2,200-litre mounted sprayer.

Called the Mega, in the long term it will eventually replace the firm’s Master range, with smaller models to follow, including a 1,800-litre version.

To make use of wasted space between the tractor cab and the top part of the sprayer, the firm has inserted a clean water tank. In addition, to aid hitching, the sprayer actually leans back when it is parked. A mechanism connected to the top link then allows the sprayer to be pulled forward by 300mm, once all connections have been made.

To reduce shock loadings on the tractor, it is also equipped with pneumatic dampeners on the two lower link assemblies.

Boom width options vary up to 28m which fold vertically, and all spraying functions are IsoBus controlled, while the filling process is still manual.

Availability is from next summer.

Househam manual track width and clearance adjustment

As an alternative to expensive hydraulic systems, which get used rarely anyway, Househam has developed a manually adjustable system to alter track width and ground clearance.

Available on its Air Ride self-propelled sprayers, track width can be altered from 2m to 3m, and ground clearance from 1.2m to 1.8m.

The sprayer is also now fitted with a category four filtered and pressurised cab, as well as now being crops certified.

Other additions include a re-styled cab, better quality seat, a fridge under the passenger seat and more space.

Kverneland Accord e-Drill concept

Showing a prototype of its next combination power harrow seed drill, Kverneland’s e-Drill is set to replace its current i-Drill, with availability from 2017.

Based around the firm’s latest H-series power harrow, the hopper sits directly on top of the headstock. This keeps weight as close as possible to the tractor and improves balance, says the manufacturer. Hopper extensions allow capacities of up to 2,000 litres.

For easier access, metering is now carried out towards one side of the hopper.

Features of the new power harrow include a lighter headstock and packer roller, while maintaining strength and performance, says the firm.

A new coupling system sees the seeding unit attached to the back of the roller, and it’s unaffected by a change in working depth to the power harrow.

The new seeding unit uses the firm’s latest CX2 coulter design, using shallow-angled discs. Disc coulters are spring-loaded and working pressure can be hydraulically adjusted.

New Kuhn Optimer

Kuhn has increased the size of the Optimer disc harrow, and it now comes at 4m, 5m, and 6m working widths with hydraulic folding. The discs are non-adjustable and have a diameter of 510mm. Each disc has sealed hubs to reduce maintenance. Kuhn say the discs are designed for tractors between 180hp and 300hp, and priced between £26,000 to £32,000 sterling.

The Optimer can also be fitted with Kuhn’s new SH 600 seeder. This seeder is based on a smaller design of Kuhn’s own metering, and mushroom head distributor. At 600-litre capacity, it is suited for planting cover crops, and the seed can be placed down the leg or on a spreader plate.

Silver medal for Väderstad’s optimum levelling

An example of automatic machine adjustment is Automatic CrossBoard, a solution to provide the leveling board with a small skid that constantly measures the height of the earth wall. The skid has a gyroscope that senses the CrossBoard angle. The data received from the gyroscope is used to maintain the perfect angle of the CrossBoard. According to Väderstad, this will reduce the aggressiveness of typical paddles found on the front of the machine, reducing a bank of soil in front, and saving on fuel.

The new technology is still under development and will be available firstly for Automatic CrossBoard, controlled by E-Control, which is Väderstad’s own control system. It is expected to be available in autumn 2016.

SeedControl – calibration test is no longer required for all HORSCH seed drills

At the Agritechnica show, Horsch introduced the SeedControl system exclusively for all Horsch seed drills – product lines Pronto, Express, Focus and Sprinter. The development was a joint project of Müller Elektronik and it is exclusively available for Horsch machines.

According to Horsch, with SeedControl the time-consuming adjustment of the machine with the calibration test is no longer necessary. SeedControl constantly monitors the seed flow for every row, every single grain is seen and counted by the sensors. The result is a seed rate which is measured in grains/m² instead of kg/ha. The corresponding conversion is no longer necessary. Adjustment and monitoring of the seed quantity can be made from the driver’s seat via the ISOBUS terminal.

New option knife roller

Horsch also upgraded its compact disc harrow Joker 5-8 RT with an optional knife roller in front of the discs. The roller covers the whole working width and has a diameter of 280mm.

The six knives per roller are set slightly diagonally. Thus, the power distribution remains constant and guarantees optimum working quality. The new front tool is perfect for working in rape and sunflower stubbles. The knife roller crushes and breaks the stubbles which then are mixed in by the discs.

Claydon Hybrid T4

Tucked away in the naughty corner of one of Agritechnica’s mammoth halls was Claydon, with its latest addition to its strip-till drill family.

Following on from 8m and 6m versions, Claydon now offers a 4m version of its trailed Hybrid T drill. However, rather than just scaling down one of the larger models, the 4m version gets its own design, incorporating a hydraulic lift mechanism on the drawbar and four of its rear packer wheels. This is opposed to the T6 and 8s which have a rigid chassis, with the seeding frame lifting up underneath.

Several elements are shared across the Hybrid T range including a floating seeding frame which is unaffected by the change in hopper levels, high-capacity pipe work for seed and fertiliser. It includes the patented Claydon twin tine seeding method, comprising a lead cultivating tine and a following seed tine.

Hopper capacity for the T4 is 3,599 litres, which can be split 60:40, and the machine needs about 50hp per metre to pull. The machine is available now in limited numbers.

Lemken extends mounted plough range

Lemken has extended its mounted reversible plough range by two Juwel 8 M series. The M and MV plough models feature a hydraulic reversing mechanism with mechanical pitch adjustment. The reversing mechanism on the plough comprises of a short, robust pivot axle with a diameter of 120mm. The pitch of the Juwel 8 M is adjusted via a cap nut and stop; this adjustment can be made separately for each side. Lemken says the easy-to-handle cap nuts protect threads against dirt to ensure that pitch adjustments can always be performed smoothly.

The standard equipment of the Juwel 8 M and MV includes the DuraMaxx plough bodies, which are available as full or slatted bodies in steel, plastic or hybrid versions to meet a wide range of requirements. The slats and mouldboards are made of special wear-resistant tool steel without drill or punch holes. Lemken claims it gives a 150% longer service life compared to conventional plough bodies. As DuraMaxx bodies are not screwed, but clipped to the base body, Lemken says they are quick and easy to replace and can be fully utilised as wearing material. Juwel 8 M ploughs to be used in less demanding soils or for lower acreage performances can be equipped with Dural bodies.

Both the skimmers, which can be adjusted without tools, and the mechanical Uni wheels with hydraulic suspension, a new feature of the Juwel 8, are also available in the Juwel 8 M.

The mechanical mechanism allows four working widths to be set, while the hydraulic version provides infinitely variable adjustment. The Hydromatic automatic overload protection claims to deliver superior safety and reliability of use when ploughing in stony soils. According to Lemken, with three to seven furrows and a range of under-frame and interbody clearances, there is an extensive range of models for medium – and high-performance tractors.

Bredal section control

Famous for its trailed spreaders, Bredal has developed a machine offering virtual section control.

Rather than use a single floor belt, as all its other models do, the new 8m3 capacity F8 uses two floor belts which deliver material to the rear discs, allowing variable rate control to each disc. The chutes which transfer material from the belts to the discs also move, altering the drop on position on the disc.

Bredal claims that spread patterns can now be more accurately manipulated, particularly useful when spreading into wedge-shaped fields.

Spread pattern is split into 12 virtual, proportional sections, with spread widths varying from 24-36m.

In conjunction with the machine’s weigh cells, section control also requires a compatible controller, either using one of the firm’s own, or an ISOBUS tractor terminal. With the field driven around once, section control is then altered depending on the machine’s position in the field, via GPS.

The machine is also fitted with a tilt sensor to compensate for gradients. Options include roll over sheet, steering axle and stainless steel tank.

Rabe Tigris Strip Till bar

With the introduction of the Tigris Strip Till bar, Rabe extends its portfolio by entering the minimum tillage segment.

Partnering with French strip till technology specialist Sly and German slurry expert Vogelsang, the new machine allows customers to choose between just tilling their fields in strips or applying slurry simultaneously with tillage in one pass.

Later in 2016, Rabe will also provide a kit to apply dry fertilizer with the Tigris to offer a full range of different fertilizer strategies.

Tigris is available in three different configurations with four, six and eight rows at 75cm row spacing. Each strip till unit comprises an opening disc mounted alongside its own depth wheel, two row cleaning wheels, a cultivating leg, behind which is located the slurry/fertiliser tubes, two discs to cover the slot, and finally a pair of press wheels.

For slurry application, the machine can be used behind a tanker or in an umbilical system.

Great Plains Spartan MkII

Great Plains introduced a Mk II version of its Spartan no-till drill, shown as a 6m model, folding to 3m for transport.

Available with a variety of seed cart configurations, the Spartan 607 II can be configured for grain only or grain and fertiliser. Built at Great Plains’ Kansas plant (the Centurion and Saxon drills are built at Sleaford in the UK), the Spartan can also be used in min-till conditions, with repositioned weight brackets making it easier to remove the weights needed for direct drilling.

Variable-rate hydraulic drive is an option for the first time, with the possibility of electric drive in the future. Multiple metering roller options can be specified, giving the flexibility to drill European crops. Fluted discs also used on the Centurion are used to open the soil, and a new scraper wheel with following tine for an improved finish has been added.

Great Plains AccuShot

Great Plains is trialling a novel liquid fertilizer placement system for its Yield-Pro precision planters which applies a predefined dose of nutrients with the seed.

Fertilizer is held under pressure in a storage manifold, similar to a common rail injection system on an engine, and a metered dose is released as the seed passes the standard seed tube sensor. Dose rates can also be varied.

The operation, known as AccuShot, is said to be so quick and precise that it can only be captured by a high-speed camera.

The company is aiming to work alongside a liquid chemical specialist to expand the range of applications for the system.

Kongskilde Delta Flex 2 stubble cultivator

Shown in prototype form, the Delta Flex 2 will eventually be the successor to the current Delta Flex cultivator, from 2017.

Featuring four rows of spring-loaded tines with a point-to-point spacing of 300mm, point options include 60mm, 80mm and various wing shares.

If deeper working is required, but with no more power to spare, the outer tines can be swung up out of the way, making it easier for the tractor to pull.

Mounted, rigid versions of the machine include 3m, 3.5m and 4m models. The 4m mounted version is also available as a folding model. Trailed folding models include four and six meter versions.

The cultivator can be fitted with the firm’s FS seeder, with hopper capacities of 200 or 500 litres, able to apply cover crops or OSR, for example.

As an option, it can be fitted with Kongskilde’s Intelli Pack system which uses hydraulics to automatically adapt to changing contours by keeping a constant pressure on the rear roller to achieve an even consolidation of the soil.

Kverneland U-Drill

Not just a scaled-down version of its larger cultivator drills, Kverneland has specially developed smaller versions of its U-Drill.

Available in three and four meter working widths, hopper capacity is 3,000 litres, which can be split 60:40 for grain and fertiliser use. Fertiliser can be applied in one of two positions; either with the disc harrows or with the seed.

All metering is done electrically and the machine features its own headland management system allowing all the machine’s various tools to be adjusted independently, leaving the operator to activate only one spool at the headland.

The machine will be available in limited numbers next spring.