PRACTICAL TEST: Lemken is moving up a Karat, with the 9 being superseded by the 10. We put the new version of the tined cultivator through its paces.
For the UK market, the option of adding a row of discs at the front on the Karat 10 has been one of the key talking points over its predecessor. This extra crop chopping ability has put the cultivator on the radar of growers currently running a tine and disc machine that may not have even considered the Karat 9 previously. Then there is the change in tine layout to help combat crabbing when working across slopes. So, plenty to consider, then.
For our season-long test Lemken sent us the 4.98m wide Karat 10/500 KUA model, which is foldable (hence the K designation), overload protected using springs and shear bolts (U) and is semi-mounted (A). The three rows in the frame are home to a total of 16 tines. The cultivator is coupled up to the tractor’s three-point linkage. Our machine had the nifty £2,216 optional traction booster system mounted on the Cat III headstock. This can transfer an additional load of up to 1.5t to the tractor’s rear axle, depending on how much front weight it has on board.
The headstock connects to the drawbar with a swivel ball, a layout that allows tight 90⁰ turns. Buyers can choose from short, medium or long drawbars. If you go for the front disc option, then you can get away with the midsize drawbar on tractors up to 3.20m wide; anything bigger will need the longer drawbar, which is for tractors up to 4.80m wide.
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