Following up on our comprehensive rear mower comparison published back in 2009, we’ve now gathered together nine front-mounted mower conditioners for yet another exclusive test. Part I focuses on the various machines’ wilting performance and power requirement
There is a lot to get through with this practical test so we’re going to dive straight in. Front-mounted mowers are expected to deliver a clean cut and effective conditioning while using the minimum amount of power and exerting as little ground pressure as possible. It was with these yardsticks in mind that we measured the performance of our test mowers in first-cut silage (21t fresh matter). The assembled group:
■■ Claas Disco Profil 3200 FC
■■ Fella SM 310 FZ KC
■■ Kongskilde GXF 3205 P
■■ Krone EasyCut F 320 CV
■■ Kuhn FC 3125 F
■■ Lely Splendimo 320 FC
■■ Pöttinger Novacat 301 Alpha Motion ED
■■ Samasz KDF 300 S
■■ Vicon Extra 632 FT SemiSwing
All nine mowers had to achieve the following: maintain a 60mm stubble height; condition the crop efficiently for speedy wilting; and use as little power as possible. The group performed three test runs: one at 10km/hr (Pass A), one at 14km/hr (Pass B) and one in which the manufacturers were free to choose the forward speed and conditioner setting (‘Manufacturer pass’). See the section on ‘How the measurements were taken’ for more details.
Now for the results. Samples for determining dry matter content were taken 20 hours after mowing at 10km/hr, with the Pöttinger swath recording the driest figure. For this pass the Pöttinger dry matter (DM) was 34.1%, followed closely by the Krone (33.8% DM). Both of these machines have conditioners with V-shape steel tines — Pöttinger 48 tines, Krone 46.
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