The hopper capacity of 3500 litres with an option to split 60:40 for seed / fertiliser gives plenty of options for winter and spring cropping. “The patented leading tine technology of the T6C with the subsequent placement of seed into aerated soil, whilst avoiding unnecessary disturbance maximises crop establishment potential” quoted Jeff Claydon. A variety of coulter and seeding boot options gives flexibility for fertiliser placement directed via the front or rear tine. Up front the T6C specification offers either shouldered cutting discs or press wheels, whilst the soil can be levelled smooth at the rear with further press wheels, levelling boards or harrow configurations. Further enhancements to the T6C design include single point depth adjustment located for operator convenience at the front of the machine.
Coupling up in the barn, the 7900kg T6C complements the use of a 300hp tractor, with daily work rates of 40ha achievable. The fully floating hopper which is sited on the land wheels directs forces onto uncultivated land, preventing compaction. The tight turn facility is particularly useful for UK farmers who want the output of a trailed drill, but who have smaller fields which resemble more of a triangle profile than the tractor driver’s preference of a large 100 ha rectangle.
An increase of seed pipe diameter up to 38mm ensures consistent high volume flow, particularly when handling larger diameter pulses such as beans. The T6C is slightly shorter than its comrade, the T6, and folds for road transport to 2.90m width. Precision control for variable rates seeding is catered for with an ISOBUS compatible RDS control system.
Keeping on the soil engaging theme post crop establishment, Jeff Claydon provided an update on the success of the front mounted TerraBlade Inter-Row hoe following trials at their farm in Suffolk. Mounted on a Cat II linkage, the hoe is targeting its flat base tine with wings at the 14cm-15cm unseeded strip between the rows where band seeding is applied. Undertaking applications on Winter Wheat at growth stage 33, initial chemical applications reduced weed heads from a population of 900 per sq. m to 90 per sq. m. A subsequent run through with the TerraBlade Inter-Row Hoe reduced the 90 per sq. m to 13 per sq. m. As Jeff summarised the product development of the Claydon Inter-Row hoe is very much to complement existing spray programmes, and to ensure a robust solution as traditional chemical options are challenged.
Available in working widths of 3m, 4m, 4.8m and 6m the TerraBlade Inter-Row Hoe is specified to align with the Claydon Hydrid drills. Running at 6km/hr the 6m unit can cover 70-80 acres per day, with the requirement for surface travelling conditions to be similar to that required for rolling activities.
