Driving impression: Kverneland/Accord i-drill Pro combination First shown in the UK at last year’s AEA Tillage demonstration in Cambridgeshire, the Kverneland/Accord i-drill Pro pairing is said to be the ‘intelligent’, ‘integral’ and ‘innovative’ next step in combination seeding. We had the opportunity to operate the machine at the tail end of the autumn ‘06 drilling season
On first inspection, the i-drill looks like any other conventional combi – in short, a drill on top of a power harrow. Which, of course, is precisely what the i-drill Pro is – an air drill on board one of Kverneland’s NGH or NGS power harrows. Yet there are differences, and some quite substantial ones at that.
On more detailed examination, the most obvious point to pick out is how closely coupled the complete combi outfit is to its tractor host. Main reason for this is that there’s now no trademark A-frame for the seeder to sit on which, in Accord terms, is a dramatic departure in itself, the end result of this re-jig being that the seed hopper, metering unit and fan are permanently bolted to the power harrow, and that the entire combination becomes significantly more compact and easy to lift. As well as this close coupling, one further plus is the 3m i-drill manages to shed about 350kg when compared with its DA-X drill counterpart (profi 5/05).
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