Kuhn Farm Machinery will be displaying a wide range of cultivation equipment at this year’s Tillage event on 14th September, with everything from ploughs and minimum tillage machines to deep cultivators and combination drills on show.
The following Kuhn machines, amongst others, will be on display:
PROLANDER – minimum tillage cultivator
Available in two working widths, the PROLANDER 6000 (6.0m) and PROLANDER 7500 (7.5m) feature five rows of tines mounted on a high clearance frame. Both machines are designed for a range of minimum tillage cultivation purposes: from second pass seedbed preparation to shallow stubble cultivation.
The PROLANDER series is fitted as standard with hydraulically adjustable forward mounted support wheels and a hydraulically adjustable rear levelling board. A choice of front and rear rollers can also be selected, thereby enabling users to customise their machine to suit specific soil and cropping conditions. An optional hydraulic front levelling board is also available for work on pre-ploughed land.
Both models fold to a width of 2.83 metres for easy transportation purposes and feature five rows of tines (39 tines on the PROLANDER 6000, 49 tines on the PROLANDER 7500).
Vibrating S tines (70 x 12mm) are positioned at 155mm intervals and can be fitted with 60mm shares for seedbed preparatory work, or with 180mm duck-foot shares for surface stubble ploughing.
Rear roller options include either a double tube (400mm diameter) and notched (320mm) roller arrangement for improved soil crumbling when working heavier land, or self-cleaning twin U-shaped rollers (both 600mm diameter) spaced at 12.9cm intervals for maximum soil consolidation. An optional rear harrow for final soil levelling can also be specified.
The PROLANDER’s five rows of tines have wide inter-tine and inter-beam clearances and are carried on a frame with 60cm of clearance for easier passage over heavy residues. This design gives the PROLANDER a low power requirement (25-35hp per metre of working width) and a high output with working speeds of up to 12km/h.
PERFORMER – non-powered deep tine-disc cultivator
The PERFORMER is Kuhn’s most popular range of non-powered cultivators. Currently available in 3 to 7 metre versions, the PERFORMER can be operated in a) disc, tine and roller, b) disc and roller, c) tine and roller, d) disc only, or e) tine only formats. The PERFORMER comprises twin disc gangs (10cm working depth), four rows of tines (35cm working depth), levelling discs and a 700mm diameter HD-Liner roller.
The disc gangs function independently of each other and comprise 510mm diameter serrated discs, mounted to afford 560mm underbeam clearance, allowing free flow of crop residues.
Tines are arranged in four rows with 280mm inter-tine spacing and 850mm underbeam clearance. Tines are curved for optimum mixing and operate with non-stop hydraulic safety at 800–1,200kg pressure. A choice of shares is available for different functionality.
Levelling discs are mounted on curved arms and have elastomer protection and there are height adjustable border discs. The HD-Liner roller is notched for better rotation and provides 225kg/m downward pressure. The roller can be lifted out of work when not required, for example when carrying out non-consolidation work.
The PERFORMER is designed for low maintenance in the toughest conditions: all discs are mounted on maintenance-free hubs and the tines are drop-forged for added strength. The machine is fully hydraulically adjustable and folds to a transport width of 3 metres.
ESPRO – minimum tillage seed drill
Capable of being pulled by a 200 hp tractor and drilling accurately at forward working speeds of up to 17km/h, the 6 metre Kuhn ESPRO offers high levels of productivity and drilling accuracy without the need to invest in ultra-high power tractors.
Two rows of 460mm concave discs open the soil, incorporate all residues into the surface layers and create a fine tilth, even in heavy conditions. These discs are followed, in the centre of the drill, by a row of 900mm diameter press wheels which create an evenly consolidated soil profile for consistent soil-to-seed contact.
The large diameter of the press wheel helps to reduce the overall rolling resistance of the ESPRO, with the deep-treaded tyres also augmenting improved soil crumbling for a finer tilth. The tyres also feature a specially designed square profile to ensure uniform consolidation across the machine’s full working width. The press wheels are also arranged in a front-to-rear offset design to further reduce rolling resistance, with 85mm inter-wheel spaces helping to minimise soil bulldozing and maintain good soil flow.
The ESPRO uses Kuhn’s CROSSFLEX seed bar and double disc SEEDFLEX coulters for precise seed placement and is ISOBUS compatible. It can also be operated via KUHN’s VT50 (non-ISOBUS) terminals, with a joystick option also available. A headland management mode lifts the ESPRO’s working elements in sequence on approaching headlands to allow drilling to continue right up to the field edge.
Calibration is simple and quick to complete, and the front working discs, seeding depth and coulter pressure can all be set and adjusted using easy to access clips on hydraulic cylinders; there is no need to climb in or over the machine to make adjustments.
The ESPRO has also been designed to be easy to service with sealed bearings used throughout and a minimum number of pivot points and moving sections minimising the amount of maintenance required.
Additional options include track eradicators, front press wheels, pre-emergence markers and hydraulic or pneumatic brake systems. A 4-metre version – the ESPRO 4000 – is also available.
VARI-CHALLENGER – semi-mounted ploughs
The 7 to 10 body VARI-CHALLENGER range is designed for medium to high-powered tractors (170 to 540 hp) and, thanks to a number of design features, sets a new standard in the field of semi-mounted, variable width ploughs with rear body lift.
VARI-CHALLENGER ploughs feature an extra-large frame (220 x 220m) for added strength and reliability and are quick and easy to prepare for work thanks to a tool-free set up system. In work mode, KUHN’s unique, constant hydraulic pressure system maintains excellent control of the rear body’s working depth resulting in a uniform working depth, even when working on undulating ground.
VARI-CHALLENGER ploughs can also be equipped with an on-land kit as an option: in-furrow ploughing is also possible with the on-land system for when ground conditions get difficult.
