Once again, we are going to tell you about the SALFORD RTS vertical tillage machine. This time we visited the VICTORIA farm in Odesa region.
All this can be found in the 3rd video of the series «Life of machinery after sale»
Victoria Farm is located in the south of Odesa region. The main specialization is growing grain and industrial crops, as well as horticulture and vegetable growing. The land bank is 4,300 hectares, of which about 300 hectares are perennial plantations and 100 hectares are vegetables. Agronomist Andrii Arhirov told us how the farm has been using Salford RTS 3100.
– Why did you purchase the Selford RTS?
- We have a very arid region, a constant lack of moisture leads to soil density, so we decided to purchase the Salford RTS 3100, because it is very heavy, it makes powerful blows and microcracks in the soil, which in turn allows you to save and accumulate moisture. This unit also fights soil compaction very well, levels the field and creates conditions for early sowing.
– Andrii, please tell us about the technology of tillage before sowing rapeseed.
- We sow rapeseed using STRIP-TILL technology with Salford RTS and Horsch Focus seeder.
In addition to the fact that we have drying out of the soil, we also have a problem when there are short-term but heavy rains that clog the soil, and water runs off if there are no crop residues. The use of vertical tillage allows us to preserve the maximum amount of straw, which in turn leads to the accumulation of moisture. In recent years, we have not been able to grow rapeseed using classical technology.
The technology is as follows. After harvesting, we pass the RTS once or twice, at a speed of 15-16 km/h, with a cultivation depth of 3-5 cm. This allows us to grind all plant residues and distribute them evenly. Then, before sowing rapeseed, we use drum machines to sprinkle the soil and treat the field with glyphosate. Due to the fact that we cultivate the soil with the Selford RTS unit, we can use 30-40 % more water than with the classical technology. That is, after plowing, the amount of water we can give is 250-300 liters of water per hectare. After RTS, we give 500 liters per hectare and even tried 600 liters and we had no runoff.
The straw, which is evenly distributed over the field, acts as a buffer and absorbs all the kinetic energy from the drop, preventing the soil structure from being destroyed. As a result, we can accumulate more moisture in the lower layers of the soil and get friendly rapeseed sprouts.
– What is the busiest period for Salford RTS?
- The maximum load on it is after harvesting. We try to close the field with RTS within 24 hours after the combine leaves.
In a field of wheat.
- We treated this field with Salford RTS and sowed it with a Salford 522 seeder. We preserved the maximum amount of residues without mixing them with the soil, which gives us additional moisture savings.
- Now we are in a field with wheat that was sown after tomatoes. The main problem is that during harvesting, agricultural machinery over-compacts the soil. This has a very negative impact on the next crop. When we didn't use RTS, our field was covered with waves, where there was over-compaction, the wheat was stressed and couldn't develop normally. Three years ago, we tried to go in 2-3 traces with RTS after tomatoes, then we go with a Horsch Joker disk harrow and sow wheat. As you can see, the field is flat.
So we use RTS after tomatoes, wheat and barley. But we do not pass after rapeseed.
– Andriy, can you tell us about the machine itself, what makes it unique and how it differs from other machines in the model range?.
The Salford RTS 3100 is the first series to be fitted with reinforced springs with a damper. This unit has a higher weight and can work in completely packed hard soil.
Our conversation was joined by Yuriy Chebanyuk, a machine operator, who told us that the first time they evaluated this equipment was when there was a lot of moisture and no other equipment could enter the field. In such difficult conditions, only Selford RTS did an excellent job of preparing the soil for sowing.
«If it wasn't for Salford RTS, we wouldn't have sown», Yuriy, a mechanic, says.
We are grateful for the hospitable reception of VICTORIA Farm and for the interesting and informative story of agronomist Andrii Arhirov.
We wish you good harvests and a peaceful sky!
And we continue our story about life of equipment after sale and in the next article we will talk about the seeder KINZE 3005 with INTERPLANT on the farm Libera. You will learn how to get a good wheat harvest with a seeding rate of only 1.5 million.
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