Integrating low disturbance subsoilers with other cultivations or drilling operations saves time and costs and front mounting the implement offers further benefits such as offering a more balanced and manageable outfit.
High fuel costs and a desire to avoid ‘recreational cultivations’ is leading operators to be more selective about subsoiling or soil loosening, choosing to target areas and crops where it will be of most benefit. There’s also been a move away from power hungry, one-job implements in recent years to incorporating the operation with other tasks and tools. For oilseed rape establishment in particular, one constant remains – unless compaction is tackled to allow roots to get down it has little chance of facing the other challenges that beset this crop. Whatever the establishment method chosen, at some point in the process a deep loosening leg will be required, and Yorkshire manufacturer Ryetec’s approach is to put it up front, ahead of the drill. Hence the development of the front-mounted Restorer ALD. The letters stand for ‘Arable Low Disturbance’ – the company also makes a grassland subsoiler, and low disturbance legs offer the required loosening at depth without bringing soil up to the surface or encouraging weed seeds to germinate, it says. Attached via a Cat III linkage, the Restorer can be front- or rear-mounted without any adjustment, the latter fitted with an optional rear packer or a rear linkage to fit a drill or another cultivator behind. Hydraulic and electrical relays can be supplied for use with drills and other implements.
Using a substantial box section frame, it is available in 3.0m rigid or 4.0m hydraulic folding versions with six or eight legs. The legs are preceded by heavy-duty pivoting discs to offer manoeuvrability around obstacles and over undulating headlands and are also said by the company to reduce stress on the legs and frame when in front mounted configuration or fitted to a tracklayer. Diameter of the Hardox legs, which have tungsten tips to reduce downtime, is 20mm and they can work to 300mm deep, controlled via the pivoting depth wheels. Leg protection is via shearbars as standard, with an auto reset option. The implement comes complete with marker boards and warning lights for transport.
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