Driving impression: Lemken Thorit 9/600 KUA tine cultivator Sign of the tines – or discs? We’re supposed to live in a revolutionary farm kit world yet it never ceases to amaze how old ideas come and go – and then come again. The tine for example has once more taken on a key role within Lemken’s current soil-working line as we found out when operating the Thorit model last autumn. The Thorit was previously known as the Achat.
As equipment demands go, the cultivator has quite a mixed bag to contend with. The one machine may well be asked to incorporate large amounts of straw, loosen the soil down at varying depths and then consolidate afterwards.
So it’s not surprising that in certain situations a single implement can struggle – and that fact applies to seemingly the most versatile of kit designs. Take Lemken’s Terradisc combination tine/disc unit. On this particular model, if the demand is for shallow work the winged tines tend to literally ‘swath’ the straw rather than incorporate it in. Vice versa, if asked to work down too deep, the profile of the tines raises hp required out of all proportion.
The short, and perhaps obvious, answer is that it seems virtually impossible to come up with just the one cultivator capable of top performance at all of the tasks that could potentially be thrown at it. What’s the answer then? Well in Lemken’s case, as with most other makers, it is to offer a full range, a choice. At the top end of Lemken’s cultivator line-up, the buyer can pick from the tined Thorit or the disc-based Rubin (see profi 06/02 and overleaf), depending on his soil type and the effect he is looking to achieve in a particular situation.
For more up-to-date farming news click here and subscribe now to profi and save 47%.
