A new electric drive seeder for oilseed rape, grass seed and cover crops is being launched at the Cereals Event by Spaldings, the direct sales specialist for agricultural equipment, tools, parts and workshop sundries.
Designed for mounting on cultivators, subsoilers, rollers and harrows, the Vento 8 pneumatic seeder is a new model from German manufacturer Lehner that distributes seed – and also granular herbicides such as Avadex – from up to eight ‘splash plate’ outlets across any width to 6m.
“We currently sell a simpler seeding system but growers increasingly want something a bit more sophisticated that’s still easy to use,” says Alex Smith, product development coordinator. “The new Vento design uses quality components throughout and Lehner spent three years developing and testing it to ensure it works accurately and reliably.”
The new Spaldings Vento 8 comes with a frame for mounting on a subsoiler or cultivator for low-cost sowing of oilseed rape and cover crops, and on rolls or a flexible tine harrow to broadcast grass seed for rejuvenating pasture or to establish a new ley.
It has a 230-litre steel hopper with seed level sensor and full-width agitator, and the cartridge-type metering roller can be pulled out for cleaning or to reconfigure the cell rings for different seeds and granules. Three cell sizes are available – for oilseed rape, for grass and cover crops, and for granular herbicides – and blank segments can easily be added or removed for different working widths.
A broad range of metering roller speeds and application rates is provided by the 12 volt electric drive motor, with consistent rates across varying ground speeds provided by automatic control using GPS or a speed signal from the tractor.
The seed rate can be adjusted on the move using a turn-and-click dial on the control box to compensate for cobbly seedbeds and other factors that may affect establishment. Fan speed is adjusted in the same way to suit working width and seed type.
Users can store up to 20 calibration settings for different seeds and granules, and the controller also displays working hours, single job and accumulated area readings, power consumption and supply voltage and an icon that confirms metering roller rotation.
The Spaldings Vento 8, priced £4975, comes with mounting frame, control panel and cabling, 25m of flexible pipe and eight stainless steel broadcasting deflectors.
Metering rollers in four sizes from 2.5cu cm to 20cu cm are available to purchase separately to suit individual requirements.
A headland manager system is available and forward speed can be controlled via the option of a 7-pin data cable and a signal from either the tractor or a GPS antenna.
