Key advances

Firms such as Bredal and Amazone aim to impress

It used to be the preserve of a coneshaped hopper and a waggling spout.

But the most sophisticated fertiliser spreaders used today are light-years away from that simple device as engineers harness new technologies to make broadcasters capable of working more productively, more accurately and in more challenging conditions.

The German manufacturer Amazone, for example, has developed a number of precision farming related tools to simplify, automate and regulate fertiliser spreading.

These include GPS-Switch headland on/off and spreading width section control, which most manufacturers now offer, and GPS-Track parallel guidance.

GPS-Maps facilitates variable rate application from prescription maps and real-time sensors, while Amazone’s Argus Twin uses imaging sensors to constantly monitor the distribution of fertiliser granules within the spread pattern so that subtle adjustments can be made when necessary.

The latest version of Argus Twin, which is available on the ZA-TS mounted spreader and the ZG-TS trailed version, can automatically compensate for the spread pattern distortion caused by windy conditions.

A wind speed and direction sensor is raised above the tractor to get a clear reading and provides the necessary data for the control software to determine whether the spreading system needs temporary adjustment.

The equipment determines the direction of the wind regardless of which way the spreader is travelling and works with data from optical sensors monitoring the spread pattern to make subtle adjustments that keep the fertiliser evenly distributed and landing where it should.

Growers who like to buy their fertiliser as straights no longer have to blend or apply them separately thanks to a new front-mounted spreader feature from Amazone.

It allows the tractor to operate front- and rear-mounted spreaders applying two different materials at the same time – an approach that allows each machine to be set-up with optimal settings for the spreading characteristics of the materials.

Available for the ZA-V and ZA-TS tractor-mounted spreaders, the package covers the practical requirements for mounting a fertiliser spreader up front, such as a lighting kit comprising clear side lamps and additional headlights for road-legal between yard and field.

Then there is new control software to display the spreading functions in reverse – because the front spreader is travelling backwards – and automate the switch-on and switch-off points at the right place for this configuration to ensure even application.

New ISOBUS control electronics on Sulky-Burel DX30 and DX30+ tractormounted spreaders allow section control shut-off to be used to minimise over-application where tramlines converge at angled headlands or elsewhere in the field.

This technology is filtered down from the French company’s larger spreaders to these 12-36m, 1,500-3,000-litre machines and comprises a ‘job computer’ on the spreader containing all the settings data needed to achieve specific application rates, and the ability to create a common format display on a terminal in the tractor cab.

Main functions are auto rate adjustment from prescription maps, section width control and auto off/on when approaching and departing headlands, which can be added to existing DX30 and DX30+ spreaders as well as new ones.

Danish manufacturer Bredal has brought wider spreading performance to its trailed bulk spreaders with a new spinner set-up that the company says will distribute lime to 30m and granular fertiliser to 48m.

That enables the Bredal XE spreaders to achieve more productive work rates by operating on wider-spaced tramlines, including controlled traffic layouts that concentrate any compaction along permanent wheelways.

This is achieved by positioning the large diameter (70cm) spreading discs 6m apart and feeding them by short lateral conveyors from the hopper belt.

Down-chute adjustment and disc speed determine the spreading width and the discs rotate towards the centre to build the required application rate in four layers to help mitigate any variations in the spread pattern.

Broadcaster maker Rauch, whose mounted and trailed spreaders are sold under the Kuhn name in the UK,