DRIVING IMPRESSION: Kverneland has stuck some extra rubber under its six- and eight-row trailed precision seeders. The updates don’t just stop there, though, as we reveal in this Optima TF Profi workout
Last time we put the Optima under the spotlight was in our practical test in the 05/2009 issue, when we had a couple of suggestions — such as extra wheels to carry the drill in light land or wet conditions. OK, so it might have taken a few years, but this is just one of the improvements that Kverneland has implemented on its six- and eight-row seeders.
Each of the four wheels is shod with 12.5/80-18 tyres, and each wheel assembly has a pair of hydraulic rams — the bottom cylinders of the four are interconnected (wheel one connected with two, wheel three with four) to aid with contour following. The rams have a total stroke of up to 110mm (55mm up and 55mm down), providing 300mm of travel for each wheel. The top cylinders are used to lift the seeder out of work and are controlled electronically. Spacers set the pitch of the chassis. When folding the drill for transport, the outer wings pivot around so they sit either side of the drawbar and their wheels remain in the raised position.
Towed from the lift arms to allow for tighter headland turns, the headstock is also home to a pto-powered fan, with a hydraulic fan optional. Also on the options list is a hydraulically powered fertiliser metering system with on-the-move rate adjustment via the Tellus ISObus screen. With a GPS input this can be linked to a map.
The new seed metering system groups four cell wheels into one assembly. The advantage of this design is improved sealing and greater accuracy of granule placement as the air flow from the central fan goes all the way down to each coulter.
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