SeedMaster would like to see the drill adopted across the research sector, which would provide more consistent results
SeedMaster is bringing a new seed plot drill to market, which the company hopes will improve crop research consistency.
Owen Kinch, field research manager for SeedMaster, said many of the plot drills used for research are old, out-of-date and use multiple styles of knives and openers that provide varying seed and product placements.
This variability in seeding equipment and fertilizer placement can reduce the value of research, especially when replicating research at different sites while using dissimilar equipment, Kinch said.
He said the company plans to mass produce a plot drill based on its toolbar technology that delivers the same product placement as modern seeding equipment. The goal is to market a plot drill that will become the standard for prairie crop research, he added.
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“The hope is that it brings more consistency to the trials when they are held on different sites.”
The plot drill has four granular on-frame tanks that use the same metering technology as the company’s larger on-frame production drills.
Each tank is hydraulically driven and capable of variable rate application.
“There are four tanks and you can direct all four to the seed or to the fertilizer knife, or any combination in between,” Kinch said.
The drill comes with SeedMaster’s in-cab field computer, which uses the company’s as-applied mapping system and can also in-corporate GPS mapping.
Opener pressure, which is monitored by an on-screen pressure monitor, is hydraulically adjustable from inside the cab.
The plot drill uses the same seed and fertilizer knives that are used on full-scale production units, which allows for identical product and seed placements.
SeedMaster’s production drills and plot drill have 12 inch row spacing, with the fertilizer banded half inch to the side and 3/4 inch below the seed placement.
The seed and fertilizer boots on the plot drill are modified to allow four hoses, one from each granular tank, to connect to them.
An adjustable air release chamber that releases the excess airflow is installed on the seed and fertilizer knives.
“You can use the air release chamber to release all of the access air flow so that you’re able to do those high rate of fertilizer from multiple tanks without compromising your product placement within the furrow,” Kinch said.
A seed cone meter option that operators can divert to either the seed or fertilizer knives will accommodate small plot agronomy trials that use packages of pre-counted seeds.
Field trials are often conducted in small spaces, and SeedMaster designed the plot drill to have a short turning radius to accommodate these smaller spaces.
“We just shortened the distances of the rows of openers, also the hitch of the machine is shorter, to give a tighter front to back distance,” Kinch said.
A catwalk is built onto the seeding unit for easy filling using bags or pails. Users can access the catwalk either by climbing up stairs built on top of the hitch or from the box of a pick-up truck.
SeedMaster has been building custom plot drills for 10 years but is now able to reduce its cost because it is mass producing a standardized drill.
“They were one-off custom pieces that have been challenging for us to manufacture because they are always different,” Kinch said.
“This plot drill allows us to mass produce it at a price that is more affordable for the end user.”
A fully equipped plot drill will cost $99,000, but the seed cone meter option will cost extra.
Kinch said he hopes the new plot drill will help crop researchers find more efficient techniques and products for producers to grow better crops.
“There is a lot of misinformation in the marketplace, whether it’s miracle products or placement of fertilizer,” he said.
“One of our goals is to provide the proper tools to the proper people who provide unbiased agronomy research.”
Contact robin.booker@producer.com
