PRACTICAL TEST: For this plough test, we take a close look at an eight-furrow Kverneland PM semi-mounted reversible plough. Suitable for both in-the-furrow and on-land ploughing, this versatile unit was also supplied with Packomat integrated packer rollers – plough and packer in tandem
It’s all in a letter. The PM is a fixed-width model, whereas the essentially similar variable-width PL shares the same layout and operating principles, except it has electrohydraulic control of the rear ploughing section to enable it to be raised or lowered independent to the front. The same controls also operate plough lift and adjust the Vari-Width furrow width adjustment, which includes an articulated beam and fixed mounting points for the two Packomat units.
Selecting Kverneland’s fixed-width PM plough over its variable-width PL brother was done to simplify this test. It is the basic mode of operation of the plough and integrated Packomat units that we wanted to look into and, as this system is shared with the PL, we felt this approach would give an insight into what Kverneland has to offer on its semi-mounted articulated models.
The test plough was an eight furrow unit with 0.77m underbeam and 1m inter-body clearance. The 41cm furrow width gives an overall 3.28m working width. Overload protection is provided by the established Kverneland fully automatic sprung-leaf breakback system.
The Packomat elements comprise two furrow presses, each made up of a single bank of heat-treated 600mm diameter fabricated rings in combination with leading and trailing spring tines. The packers are not trailed in conventional fashion but mounted to the plough. This is an important aspect of the whole system. Unlike a conventional press, the way in which the Packomat system operates enables each unit to be adjusted.
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