Potato growers love cup-fed planters. But belt-based designs claim higher working speeds and more gentle tuber handling, so which is best for you? This two-part article compares a brace of four-row Grimme models, both built with larger-scale operations in mind
Grimme offers a big range of potato planters — ten cup models and four using belts. Cup models run from two rows up to eight; belt machines from two rows to four. In spring last year we took a couple of four-row units — a 2012 GL 430 and a 2014 GB 430 — and worked them together, with a view to finding the differences. Remembering which is which is easy, as the belt model has a ‘B’ in its name.
Each planter was carried by a 176kW/236hp Fendt 724. This also powered a 3m Grimme GR 300 Rota Tilla, a machine designed for soil preparation before potatoes and intended for work in stone-free land. The cup planter (the GL 430) can have a headstock kit so a rotavator from Grimme, Amazone or Lemken can slot in between it and the tractor. The belt machine does not have this option, so the Rota Tilla had to be carried on the Fendt’s front linkage. Basic spec for both planters was as follows:
■ 750mm row width
■ 3.0t-3.5t capacity
■ Chemical delivery system
■ XL ridging boards
We’ll start as usual with attachment to the tractor. These trailed machines were coupled via a K80 ball hitch, which involved zero complication and gave a shunt-free ride. The belt GB planter has no hose holder, but on the positive side it does have a hydraulic stand. The 2012 GL machine had covered under 1,000ha before this comparison took place, but during our time with it the headstock cracked; Grimme now offers a kit to fix the problem, and production models have also been reinforced.
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