Potato Review

42 POTATO REVIEW SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 MACHINERY “Fertiliser spreader checks should be prioritised” FARMERS not checking fertiliser spreaders pre-application could be losing up to £100 per hectare, according to Dale Shaw, Machinery Sales Manager at Carr’s Billington. “With input prices on the rise across the board, farmers need to be considering how they can make small improvements on-farm to reduce the impact of volatile prices we are all currently seeing. Fertiliser prices are only going one way at the moment, but this is where you can reap the rewards if attention to detail is made a priority. Efficient fertiliser use and making the most of home-grown forage could go a long way this year,” he said. Dale suggests that in addition to considering when to spread and what product to use, producers should take the time to check over machinery before getting back out in the field. “As with all machinery there will be various components that are susceptible to wear. Make sure you are confident that the agitator is working effectively and capable of ‘shaking’ the fertiliser down through the hopper. More often than not, the shutters on fertiliser spreaders are now electric. This can mean they are prone to issues, so test these to ensure they are opening and closing correctly to support flow rates. “Likewise check over the discs and vanes for any signs of wear and replace these if necessary. Although investing in replacement parts can be costly, the cost of over or under spreading could be even more considerable in terms of the yield gained,” he said. Dale adds that once these checks have been done, calibrating the spreader to the product choice is important. “Don’t assume that all fertilisers have the same application settings as this is not the case. Different fertilisers will flow at different rates out of the machine. Check the fertiliser bags for the right information. “Once you have set-up the spreader, consider doing a quick check in the yard. Remove one of the discs from the machine and replace with an adaptor. Place a bucket underneath the spreader and start the engine to simulate field conditions. Run it for 30 seconds collecting the fertiliser in the bucket. “Weigh the fertiliser that has been collected and calculate how many kilograms should be coming from the spreader per minute. This should correlate with the fertiliser application settings and if there are differences, you may have to make adjustments to the regulator to compensate. Modern machinery will be able to do much of this for you, however there is no harm in taking the time to double check.” New closed transfer system for sprout suppressant A NEW time-saving closed transfer system aims to enable growers to maximise the area covered when conditions are just right for application of sprout suppressant maleic hydrazide. Wisdom Systems has been working with Certis to help deliver its liquid maleic hydrazide product Crown MH from 600L IBCs to sprayers more quickly with 5kg packs of granular formulations that are prone to foaming. Richard Garnett of Wisdom Systems says many sprayer operators will already be familiar with the FasTran 850 CTS: “It is widely used to deliver and meter products such as glyphosate and micronutrients from IBCs into the sprayer’s chemical induction system. With traditional packaging and open pouring, we estimate that the average large sprayer takes about 10 minutes to fill with water and another half an hour to put all the product in the tank. “Our system fills the sprayer with water and the required amount of Crown MH at the same time to save that half an hour per fill-up and enable operators to apply an extra one to two loads per day.”