Having tried virtually every direct drill on the market, grower Simon Chaplin felt there was no single machine on offer capable of dealing with a full range of soil conditions. Farming over 1,620ha across Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Norfolk and the Scottish Borders, Mr Chaplin wanted to move to a one-pass zero-tillage crop establishment system across all his sites, so he set out to develop one. And the Triton SP is the result. A very simple box-section frame hosts two rows of rigid tines, which carry the coulters. Two further rows of tines follow the leading ones, running just offset to create a sideways heave — to close the slot without the need for a rear press wheel. Without a packer roll he says the drill can travel in more challenging conditions, and the surface is left undisturbed and unconsolidated so weed seeds are less likely to emerge. Metering is provided by a Weaving front tank, and widths of 2.4m, 3.0m, 4.0m and 4.8m are available … but not in folding format, as yet. A 3.0m version will set you back £24,950, with the cost of a front hopper adding to the final figure.
Advertisement