Horsch distributor, Echuca Victoria based, Muddy River is set to debut the new Avatar SD drill to Australian farmers with the first machine arriving in March.
Premiering at Agritechnica 2015, the Avatar is a heavy-duty disc aimed at direct seeding applications.
Muddy River sales and marketing manager, Steve Robertson said the machine would be tested and demonstrated in Australian conditions before being released.
“We’ll be demonstrating a 60’ (18 m) 15” (38 cm) spacing Avatar mounted on a Maestro toolbar which folds to just over a 3.0 m transport width.
“It’s obviously got the new Avatar single disc row units and trash wheels on the front and we are going to bring it to Victoria first and do some demos throughout that state and then southern, central and northern NSW,” he said.
“It’s specifically targeted at winter crop cereal production. Mounted on a Horsch Maestro single toolbar it is certainly broadacre aimed but we will have other versions that will suit smaller applications.”
Horsch says the Avatar offers a strong coulter frame design to eliminate sideways movement and coulter pressure of 200 kg for better penetration and consistent sowing depth on uneven soils while a press wheel closes and consolidates the seed furrow.
The company says despite the high weight, which is necessary for a direct seed drill, the horsepower requirement of the Avatar SD is low as the single disc coulters are arranged in two bars.
Mr Robertson said the Maestro mounted Avatar units would give a good indication of performance in Australian conditions. “This is the unit we could get our hands on and it will suit a lot of our applications here,” he said.
In other news, Horsch has also announced modifications to its Sprinter drill making it easier to handle with lower horsepower tractors.
The chassis has been streamlined and the rolling resistance lowered to allow a significant reduction in the power required to operate the machine. A 110 kW tractor can handle a 4.0m Sprinter model easily according to the factory.
The Sprinter drill can be used after ploughing, following a cultivator or in a direct drilling role and is able to work in a wide variety of conditions and is claimed to be ideal during a wet sowing season.
The machine now has 14 coulters on the 4.0 m model and 22 coulters on the 6.0 m model with a row spacing of 270 mm and 280 mm respectively, providing more room for the soil to move and settle.
A wide range of coulters is available including the Duett coulter, which places the seed in a band with 65 per cent of the surface covered, and the Ultra LD low disturbance coulter.