FARGO, N.D. – Seed bounce problems become worse as producers buy bigger drills and use higher rates of fertilizer and seed.
More air volume and higher fan speeds are needed to move more seed greater distances, but this results in seed bouncing out of the trench by the impact and seed that is blown out by the force of the air.
Fertilizer granules that miss the target will still contribute to crop growth, but expensive bounced seeds are gone for good, says Phil Needham of Needham Ag Technologies in Kentucky.
Read Also
First annual Ag in Motion Junior Cattle Show kicks off with a bang
Ag in Motion 2025 had its first annual junior cattle show on July 15. The show hosted more than 20…
He said there are good seed brakes on the market, all with the same purpose.
They all let the air evacuate the hose just above the boot so the seed and fertilizer drop by gravity,” he said.
“The air pressure dissipates once it has performed the task of delivering product to the boot.”
Needham said Dutch Industries’ stainless steel diffuser has more holes and better air release than other seed brakes he’s seen.
Seed brakes can’t deliver the kind of uniform seed singulation that a planter provides, but they make a big improvement in spacing and number of seeds delivered to the slot.
“In field tests, the Dutch seed brake gave us improved seed spacing,” he said.
“The split was better than two standard deviation points between seed brake rows and rows without. That’s a very significant improvement.”
Standard deviation is a common measurement of variability, with lower numbers indicating a lower degree of variability.
The Dutch seed brake that Needham sells is made of 100 percent stainless steel to resist corrosion caused by granular fertilizer. The baffle that the seeds hit to reduce their speed is also made of stainless steel.
Other seed brake manufacturers use a rubber baffle to reduce seed cracking.
“I would suggest seed damage could be a problem, although we have no evidence of it yet,” Needham said.
“The seed is generally damaged before it gets to the boot. Germination is reduced when the outer coating is cracked. In a John Deere, for example, most of the seed damage occurs at the top of the seed distributor. We know this for sure. Seed is fired at the inside of the steel cover at 35 to 40 m.p.h.”
Needham alleviated the problem by designing a seed diffuser installed inside the distributor, which he calls Seedliner.
The poly material is gentler on the seed than steel and the raised cone profile in the centre causes seeds to make a gradual turn out to the ports rather than a sudden stop.
“We’ve eliminated that dead stop the seeds make when they hit the steel plate,” he said.
It also distributes the seed more uniformly in the distributor.
Needham sells the seed brake for $27.95 US and the poly seed liner for $50 US.
For more information, contact Needham at 270-785-0999 or visit www.needhamag.com .
———
“access=subscriber section=crops, none, none
