The addition of two dry bulk compartments to the Horsch Maestro makes it the first corn planter in North America with bulk-fill dry fertilizer, which gives it better flexibility at seeding time.
The Maestro SW Dry is now available with twin 2.2-tonne fertilizer compartments, allowing producers to take advantage of the economic benefits of dry fertilizer, according to Tyler Billay, Horsch representative for the prairie provinces.
“Two tanks let operators apply one or two fertilizer blends,” Billay said.
“The upgrade means the SW has the industry’s highest seed and fertilizer carrying capacity, thus reducing the frequency of refills.”
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Producers are moving away from broadcast fertilizer as enforcement of environmental regulations tighten and toward systems that place fertilizer into the ground. The Maestro eliminates potential runoff from broadcast applications followed by heavy rain.
“Your granular can be banded horizontally from the seed row by a distance of two to five inches, and it can be placed deeper than the seed row by a distance up to four inches,” he said.
Variable rate application is handled by any Isobus control or Horsch monitor. Rather than conventional meter drives, the SW features highly precise meters driven by powerful Mueller electric motors, which can handle large volumes accurately.
The SW achieves high efficiency because it places seed accurately at higher ground speeds. The air delivery uses large diameter hoses for unobstructed flow when dealing with large volumes of fertilizer. Each delivery hose has its own stainless steel-sleeved blockage monitor.
Also standard on SW units are electric-driven row units with curve compensation, independent section control, hydraulic down pressure and a unique weight transfer system.
“When you turn in the headlands, curve compensation slows the meters on the inside of the arc and speeds up the meters on the outer edge of the arc,” Billay said.
“The seeding rate remains the same all across the headland.”
The Maestro SW1630 is 40 feet wide with 16 rows on 30 inch spacing. The SW2420 is 40 feet wide with 24 rows on 20 inch spacing. The SW2430 is 60 feet wide with 24 rows on 30 inch spacing.
Seed capacity on all three models is 83 bushels.
Depending on options, list price for the SW1630 is US$270,000.
