© Techneat Engineering
Techneat Engineering’s front-mounted Placement Pro GR fertiliser applicator is now available with soil-opening discs as an alternative to the standard tine-based arrangement.
Scottish potato growers were particularly keen on discs to apply fertiliser in green cover as they offer a means of cutting through surface trash, as opposed to dragging it down the field with tines.
As before, the Placement Pro GR will work with granular and prilled fertiliser over two or three potato beds.
See also: How to fit a fertiliser kit to a John Deere drill
But the pairs of spring-loaded, 550mm-diameter discs are mounted in a single row, rather than staggered in the case of the tines.
Boards are positioned on the outside of each set of discs to reduce bulldozing and maintain the structure of the potato bed, while the position of the wheels can be adjusted to alter the exact depth of fertiliser placement.
Product is gravity fed to the distribution pipes from a 1,200-litre hopper that will accommodate a 1t bulk bag or two 600kg bags of fertiliser.
Upgrade
A land wheel drives the metering system on the standard £9,281 version, but there’s the option of upgrading to an electronic metering, or to an “Air” model.
This features a galvanised chassis, electronically controlled stainless-steel metering system and a GPS speed sensor, plus a bigger 1,500-litre hopper and a hydraulically powered fan to distribute the granules.
The firm also offers an LQ variant for liquid fertiliser injection, with a 1,000-litre tank, hydraulic pump and RDS control system.
Tines or wings place the liquor 2in below and 1in to the side of the seed to avoid burning the roots.
Fitting kits are available for Standen, Structural and Grimme potato planters.
