A New Type Of Drill

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32032, 5 July 1969, Page 9

A New Type Of Drill

This is a new type of drill designed primarily for direct drilling of crops or pastures into uncultivated land. It may also be used in cultivated ground.

The machine shown is a prototype of the Fernhurst triple disc coulter drill designed and developed in England by Plant Protection, Ltd, the agricultural division of Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd. It is at present being tested in the South Island to determine its suitability for use under local conditions.

Its special advantage over conventional hoe coulter implements is its ability to work on ground covered by trash, such as cereal crop stubble. A small leading straight disc is followed by two larger discs running side by side in a narrow V. The double discs open the slit produced by the leading disc to facilitate the introduction of seed and fertilisers into the soil. The drill operates with

little disturbance of the ground surface and with the slit produced being a fairly narrow one there would seem to be little risk of birds taking the seed. To achieve penetration of the soil weight is added to the coulters through two hydraulic rams and although the draught requirement is low, the drill weighs two tons and a medium-powered tractor is needed.

In soils free of stones there is little wear on the implement and it is able to be worked at speeds of up to seven or eight miles an hour.

With large springs fitted there is a generous allowance for independent movement of individual coulters to conform with irregularities in the surface of the ground. Drills using this coulter system are now available commercially in the United Kingdom and since this implement has been tested in Australia three manufacturers have produced prototype drills incorporating the triple coulter system and there is a possi-

bility of a further variation of this type of drill. By removing the front disc this drill can also be used for drilling into cultivated soil and the aim is to demonstrate its versatility and ability to work satisfactorily in both cultivated and uncultivated ground. The prototype machine, seen working on the stud sheep farm at Lincoln College this week, belongs to Imperial Chemical Industries (N.Z.), Ltd, and is being tested under a variety of conditions by an Ashburton contractor, Mr I. E. Woolley, of Direct Drilling Services, Ltd. It has been used to drill grasses and cereals directly into cereal stubbles and is now being used to sow cereal crops into sprayed pasture. Later it may be used for pasture and brassica crop establishment by direct drilling. The work is being done mainly in Canterbury. The drill is regarded as being complementary to equipment already available rather than replacing it