PRACTICAL TEST: The idea of a universal drill makes sense from a marketing point of view, but what’s the reality? A field test throws up some answers…
Kverneland’s u-drill is a pneumatic seeder with plenty of electronics and three working widths — two fixed units at 3.0m and 4.0m plus a folding 6.0m version. The same widths are offered in the ‘u-drill plus’ grain/fertiliser range. Here we concentrate on the 6.0m grain-only u-drill 6000, which comes with a minimum power requirement of 120kW/160hp and is clearly aimed at contractors and larger arable operations.
At 8.37m long and 8.3t empty this is a big bit of kit, so attachment to the tractor is by Cat III cross-shaft. Its various hoses all route and store neatly, although the same can’t be said for the electrics from the optional CCTV camera and on-board hopper weighing system. Flow direction symbols on the four colour-coded hydraulic lines would be a help, too. A fixed-length drawbar pivots through 90° and there’s an extended version offered at £795; the drawbar also hosts a dust-proof lockable box that holds up to eight metering cell wheels.
A key part of the u-drill as tested is a fullwidth front tyre press (£6,885), whose nine 31×15.50-15 tyres are set 130mm apart in three sections. This press does two jobs: consolidates the area between the tractor wheels; and, along with its rear equivalent, keeps the u-drill level. As a result coulter depth doesn’t change with the terrain or hopper content. And if conditions mean you’d rather not use the press, it lifts out of work from a prod on the touch-screen controller. There’s good detailing, too: tyre valves are protected and the required inflation pressure is shown.
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