There has been no easing off the gas at Horsch since the last Agritechnica as the machinery maker will have several new cultivators, drills, planters, sprayers, mechanical hoes and a precision fertiliser spreader on the stand at this year’s show.

Starting with cultivators, in order to fit a knife roller, levelling board or double ring packer and stay within the required weight limits, the company has developed the 12m wide Joker 12RT compact disc harrow. This has a tandem axle and folds along the drawbar to stay within the critical 3.0m wide, 4.0m high transport package. This layout will also be available as a 10m and there are rumours of wider working widths too.

The Cruiser 9 XL is a new version of the firm’s ultra shallow cultivator, a six-row tine machine designed to work down to 10-15cm. It has a new FlexGrip tine with a 180kg trip force on a slightly wider spacing of 17cm.

Horsch is adding a 24cm wide point to the range at Agritechnica which will ensure all of the soil is moved across the working width. Roller choice includes interlocking channel rings or press style rings and for lighter land there is a new Optiroll which is 640mm in diameter with 16cm high rubber rings.

On one of the two tandem roller setups, you can use the hydraulics to raise the rear row for a more open finish or applying pressure for greater ground contact. There will initially be 7.0m and 9.0m models with 5.0m, 6.0m and 10m being added next year.

Set to replace the Terrano FM is the new Fortis 9 AS can handle extra horsepower (up to 700hp). This four row 9.0m cultivator has a tine spacing of 27cm and a maximum working depth of 30cm. A key change is that the rear row of tines has been shifted closer to the line of levelling discs and the rear roller.

The benefit of this closer spacing is that the soil throw into the discs produces a leveller finish. The traction control system that applies a load of up to 1.2t on the tractor is also part of the specification. There are a range of roller options including tandem interlocking rings where you can raise the rear gang out of work for a looser finish or apply pressure to the front rings for extra consolidation.

The new Horsch Leeb VT self-propelled sprayer, a 1.8 to 2.4m telescopic axle machine with tank capacities of 5,000-litres (230hp) and 6,000l (300hp), will also be on the stand. This new variable width model is reckoned to appeal to contractors in the UK who are dealing with different wheelings and also the 5,000l is the smallest self-propelled to be made by the German firm.

TX maize drill

This one will be of interest to those growing maize in the South West, the Maestro TX has the six planter units on a telescopic frame and a fertiliser hopper. The row widths can be altered in 5cm increments from 45cm to 80cm without tools, just refit a clip. The planter units slide hydraulically on the toolbar. The fertiliser hopper has a capacity of 1,300-litres.

The TX can also be fitted with a new secondary hopper that will be rolled out to the other Maestro models in the future. This has its own metering system with an outer counter rotating housing which is replaceable rather than allowing wear to the main unit. The product can be applied directly in the seed furrow or has enough adjustment to allow it to spready it wider and shallower.

The Pronto 7DC is a new addition to the disc cultivator, disc coulter range with a working width of 7.2m so it marries in with four passes for a 36m tramline. The model we saw at a press meeting earlier this autumn was fitted with the new TurboDisc coulter which has a maximum downforce of 150kg, 15kg more than the DuoDisc.

It achieves this by having a parallelogram linkage which is able to apply more pressure but the ground engaging parts are the same. The 7DC will have the option of a rear mounted MiniDrill that can place product in front of the tyre packer, behind the coulters or mix it with the seed and fert to go down the same spout.

Mechanical hoes

New mechanical hoes on the Horsch stand include the Transformer VS, a 6.0m in-row weeder with each unit having its own depth wheel followed by a fixed tine that can work in cereals drilled on 12cm centres.

The tine is held rigid, so it doesn’t float left or right. Likewise, the height is fastened by two bolts on a pin and hole system rather than clamped. All of this is to prevent damage to crop. Each unit also has a hydraulic ram for individual lift out while spring tension holds it in place.

Cura 18, is a new semi mounted design which will be offered in widths of 18 and 21m. Unlike the larger trailed 24m model which has a long drawbar this new addition is more of a hybrid semi mounted design but folds like the smaller narrower mounted models and is positioned much closer to the tractor in work. The seven-section precision harrow shares the tine system with the other models with tip pressures of 300g to 5.0kg.

Two years ago, Horsch Leeb announced it was going to build a precision fertiliser spreader, and it has done just that. Called the Leeb Xeric, test machines have been in the field this season and will be joined by a number of pre-series units for next season before gearing up to full production in 2025.

The Xeric uses the chassis from the 12,000l trailed 12TD sprayer. On top is a 14m3 bin with augers directing the fertiliser to a sorting box on the top of the parallelogram linkage used to carry the 36m or 48m boom. Both have 12 sections each fed by swappable stainless steel augers that can be swapped to handle the type and rate of product. Outlet spacings are 1.5m and 2.0m, respectively. We will take a more detailed look at a later date but it does use a lot of the trailed sprayer technology with regards the running gear and boom control.

FlexGrip tine on latest Horsch Cruiser – Profi

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