Horsch unveiled the Fortis at SIMA, a new tine cultivator range that will be offered alongside the various incarnations of the firm’s Cruiser, Terrano and Tiger.

When it comes to tine cultivators for primary cultivations, Horsch already has a pretty extensive line-up with the Cruiser, Terrano and Tiger ranges. But it appears there was a gap that has now been filled by the Fortis 6AS and 7AS with respective working widths of 5.60m and 6.70m.

We caught up with the wider model on the loamy sandy soil of a 3,500ha arable unit in Mecklenburg, West Pomerania, Germany. Set to a working depth of 18cm, the John Deere 9630 wheeled artic tractor was able to work away at 12km/hr in the same field as the farm’s Tiger.

Fortis = Terrano for 400hp+

While the Tiger has a tine hitting the ground every 23cm at depths of down to 40cm, the Cruiser is designed for lighter, shallow passes down to 15cm deep. The Terrano family sits between these two, with a 30cm tine spacing and digging down to 30cm.

Since the Terrano is ‘only’ approved for up to 390hp, Horsch developed the Fortis (Latin for strong and powerful) for tractors from 400hp+. The new additions are based on the Terrano and are suitable for up to 600hp. Last year 15 prototypes were undergoing testing. A number of pre-series Fortis machines will be in the field for the coming season before entering full production next year, initially with working widths of just under 6.0m and 7.0m. A 9.0m version is also on the drawing board.

27cm spacing

Key statistics for the Fortis 7AS are a working width of 6.75m and an underbeam clearance of 85cm for plenty of space underneath. The tines are distributed over four rows that are between 82cm and 87cm apart. Those on the fourth row are offset 50cm to the rear thanks to their horizontally longer leg design to make room for the 550/45-22.5 transport wheels. For headland turns, the Fortis can be carried on the packer or on the transport tyres.

At 27cm, the line spacing on the Fortis is between that of the Tiger and the Terrano. And the Fortis uses the TerraGrip mechanical breakback system from the Terrano GX with a trip force of up to 540daN. The tines can be equipped with the following points:

  • 80mm wide MulchMix point for a depth of 30cm; when equipped with 37cm wide wings, max depth is 15cm.
  • Where you want to work shallow and till the full width, it is possible to fit the 40cm wide TerraCut point.
  • For deeper loosening, there are 40mm wide LD and 25mm narrow ULD points.

The tine arrangement is almost symmetrical; only one of the tines is slightly offset due to the design layout.

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