Looking to exploit the full potential of a tractor’s front linkage has led Agri-Weld to develop a front-mounted soil loosener. The end result is the Mantis, so called that when the depth wheels are folded back it looks like the insect of the same name.
Three working widths are available; 3.0m, 4.0m and 6.0m with six-, eight- and twelve legs respectively. The first unit has already been used to establish 280ha of spring barley in conjunction with a power harrow drill combination.
Agri-Weld’s Dean Foster points out that previously the stubble was cultivated separately, but as well as the cost saving of a reduced pass, moisture is conserved, and the crop has germinated quickly despite the lack of rainfall four weeks after sowing. The 4.0m unit has mostly been used with a 240hp Fendt and despite the extra workload there has only been a slight difference in forward speed compared to running solely with the combi.
Although the legs can be used up to 300mm deep, on most demos they have been used at 150-175mm. Swivel leg frames mean the tractor can still steer. Mr Foster adds that it also helps restore the tractor’s weight balance as the large depth wheels keep the machine floating and compared to a weight block where the nose of the tractor sinks down when the rear implement is lowered back into work.
The subsoiler can be fitted with Metcalf points or Sumo’s low disturbance GLS point which is around 120mm wide. Ahead of each leg is a 460mm serrated disc to cut through trash and prevent material building up around the leg which is then released in clumps that affect the seedbed.
The price of the 3.0m is £13,500 while the folding 4.0m unit is £16,500 and the 6.0m is expected to be around £25,000.
