Lemken surprised Agritechnica show goers with its first proper direct drill, the Solitair NT which has been tested in the UK this year.
Niklas Krueger is one of those tasked with bringing the new drill to the market. The NT project has been on the go for over three years and is a Lemken machine that uses some of the Equalizer team know-how – Lemken bought the South African, Equalizer direct drill manufacturer in 2023.
For now there is just a 6.0m drill, but there are definite plans to make wider versions with the possibility of smaller drills after that. Getting the seed in the ground is the new Pro Disc coulter, a 480mm disc angled at an undercut of 10 degrees and 7 degrees in the direction of travel. Down pressure is carried out hydraulically, with the ram on each opener linked to a central pressurised rail to maintain an even downforce across each wing.
Above, Lemken has worked with its existing hopper and metering from the other Solitair drills. This can have a capacity of 4,400-litres in seed only guise or 5,100l when grain and fert. There is also the option to add a third hopper and metering unit in the form of the mini seeder.
Pre-series machines will be in the field again next season, with two of the pre-production run destined for the UK. There is still a bit of detail tweaking to be done such as with the press wheel adjuster. The Solitair NT on show was also sporting central tyre pressure ability for the VF710/50 R26.5 tyres.
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