31 March 2016
Growers take a closer look at the configuration of the Morris C2 Contour drill during a field day held by Cowra dealer, Beulah Machinery. Paddock demonstrations have shown good even sowing depth with the C2.
MAXIMISING input efficiency as well as production potential is the ultimate objective for many farmers, and for croppers this can start with accurate seed and fertiliser placement to ensure consistent plant germination and establishment.
Undulating country can pose difficulties for growers, so a machine with sufficient ground following ability is vital for improved depth control and seed placement.
The Morris C2 Contour drill, featuring independent openers and true one-to-one parallel linkage, has impressed growers with how well it maintains the same depth and places the seed. Some other machines don’t have the breakout pressure that the C2 offers to keep them in the ground.
Plant counts and crop emergence with the Morris drill have been excellent.
Growers like the easy depth adjustment on the C2, including a simple pin system and with each notch on the cam being a quarter inch or 6 millimetres.
They also like the fact the breakout pressure can be easily adjusted in the cab, as well as the closed loop hydraulic system. The passive hydraulic system on the Morris C2 Contour drill, which uses a hydraulic accumulator, greatly reduces the demand on tractor hydraulics compared with continuous flow systems.
Trash clearance is another positive feature, aided by the reclined single shank design, increased distance to the catch point, alignment of the opener, seed tube and press wheel, and different spacings between the openers.
Gooloogong grower Glenn Thompson, who has been using a Flexi-Coil bar to continuously crop 810 hectares of the family’s ‘Pinefield’ property to wheat, canola and barley and also carries out contract seeding, said the ease of use, ground following ability and trash clearance offered by the Morris drill were attractive.
“The tine set-up and press wheel with the Morris is very good. We also do gas (anhydrous ammonia) and so we want to set up a one-pass machine,’’ Glenn said.
“We need a machine with good ground following ability for our undulating sandy loams, hence why we had the Flexi-Coil, and the Morris is now the next best step.’’
The Thompson’s 14-metre Flexi-Coil bar is set on 30-centimetre (12-inch) spacings, but Glenn said they wanted to return to 25cm (10-inch) spacings with a simple tined machine in better seasons to help increase yield potentials.
He said the improved trash clearance with the Morris would be another bonus, as they planned to adopt inter-row plantings.
Meanwhile, recent trials of sowing rigs in Canada have also shown strong benefits with Morris air carts and its C2 Contour drill when it comes to plant germinations and establishment.
A recent trial in wheat following canola in Canada conducted by an independent agronomist assessed plant counts from a range of machines including John Deere, Seedhawk, New Holland and Bourgault, in addition to Morris.
The average plant counts in the trial with the Morris system were more than 35 per cent greater than with the other machines.
The combination of the Morris air carts and C2 Contour drill, with the option of its paired-row double shoot opener system, helped achieve these results.
The metering accuracy provided by the air carts is very good. With the spiral fluted metering wheels, the accuracy through the individual primary lines to the heads of the drill delivers uniform seed placement to the boot.
The paired-row double shoot opener system places two rows of seed 10 centimetres (4 inches) apart and fertiliser directly behind the knife point. It creates an undisturbed seedbed or shelf for the seed, and, with the positive packing pressure from the press wheel, it achieves the seed-to-soil contact required to give the seed every opportunity to germinate.
The independent openers and true “one-to-one’’ parallel linkage with the drill means seed depth is maintained no matter the country it traverses. It maintains a constant opener angle relative to the soil and a constant opener depth relative to the packer wheel.
The precision placement of seed in-furrow and the positive packing pressure results in uniform seed placement and germination right across the width of the machine. This regularly produces yield gains of around 100 kilograms per hectare.
For more information on the Morris C2 Contour Drill, click here or contact your local dealer.