The new Simba Horsch Pronto EX drill.
SIMBA Horsch launched the Pronto EX, a new 3m mounted cultivator drill, at Lamma 2010 following extensive field tests in the UK.
The Pronto EX is a compact three-point linkage mounted drill with a 1,500-litre hopper capacity. It has been designed so that its weight is located close behind the tractor, enabling it to be both lifted and operated behind tractors of anything between 115-140hp at working speeds of up to 15km/hr.
Cultivation is performed by an X-format disc harrow that, in field trials on all major British soil types, has proved equally adept at working in non-inversion systems or on ploughed land.
The company is still finalising the choice of consolidation or levelling elements to run behind the discs, with an Otico-type roller performing very well on ploughed land. Other levelling board and finger harrow type levelling tools have been evaluated across Europe, and the final choice of what will be offered as standard equipment in the UK will be announced at Lamma.
The drill features 18 drilling coulters at 16.5cm spacings. These can be fitted with Horsch's new Power Disc (38cm diameter) disc coulters that achieve exceptional accuracy of seed placement, or with the company's existing Turbo Disc coulter that has proved highly successful on the existing Pronto range.
In normal conditions they work with 60kg coulter pressure, but this swiftly rises to a maximum of 150kg when a coulter rides out of the soil to avoid a stone or similar obstruction, ensuring that it resets to the selected working depth quickly and the evenness of drilling is not affected.
The coulter is protected by a newly designed solid spring protection, with the bearings of each disc being maintenance-free and featuring no lubricating nipples, as is the case for all Horsch machines. A 40cm press wheel runs behind each coulter and ensures even drilling depth is maintained at all times.
According to Simba's Guy Leversha, the company already offered the most complete ranges of cultivator drills from 4-12m with the Pronto and Sprinter/CO ranges.
"This launch, combined with the existing 3m Pronto DC and new 3m Sprinter launched at Tillage, brings the benefits of Horsch's market-leading design to a huge number of new farmers who might not previously have been able to benefit from it," he said.
"The high working speeds that all these machines can achieve mean they offer significant output as part of a drilling fleet for large farmers or contractors."
For more information visit: www.simba.co.uk.
