| Arable
New Vento air seeder from
Spaldings has auto rate control
for a range of crops and
herbicide granules
A new electric drive seeder for oilseed rape, grass seed and cover crops is being launched at the Cereals Event by
Spaldings, the direct sales specialist for agricultural equipment, tools, parts and workshop sundries.
esigned for mounting on
cultivators, subsoilers, rollers
and harrows, the Vento 8
pneumatic seeder is a new
model from German
manufacturer Lehner that
distributes seed – and also granular herbicides
such as Avadex – from up to eight 'splash plate'
outlets across any width to 6m.
“We currently sell a simpler seeding system
but growers increasingly want something a bit
more sophisticated that's still easy to use,” says
Alex Smith, product development coordinator.
“The new Vento design uses quality
components throughout and Lehner spent
three years developing and testing it to ensure
it works accurately and reliably.”
The new Spaldings Vento 8 comes with a
frame for mounting on a subsoiler or cultivator
for low-cost sowing of oilseed rape and cover
crops, and on rolls or a flexible tine harrow to
D
16 | Farming Monthly | August 2017
broadcast grass seed for rejuvenating pasture
or to establish a new ley.
It has a 230-litre steel hopper with seed level
sensor and full-width agitator, and the cartridge-
type metering roller can be pulled out for
cleaning or to reconfigure the cell rings for
different seeds and granules. Three cell sizes
are available – for oilseed rape, for grass and
cover crops, and for granular herbicides – and
blank segments can easily be added or
removed for different working widths.
A broad range of metering roller speeds and
application rates is provided by the 12 volt
electric drive motor, with consistent rates
across varying ground speeds provided by
automatic control using GPS or a speed signal
from the tractor.
The seed rate can be adjusted on the move
using a turn-and-click dial on the control box to
compensate for cobbly seedbeds and other
factors that may affect establishment. Fan
speed is adjusted in the same way to suit
working width and seed type.
Users can store up to 20 calibration settings
for different seeds and granules, and the
controller also displays working hours, single
job and accumulated area readings, power
consumption and supply voltage and an icon
that confirms metering roller rotation.
The Spaldings Vento 8, priced £4975, comes
with mounting frame, control panel and cabling,
25m of flexible pipe and eight stainless steel
broadcasting deflectors.
Metering rollers in four sizes from 2.5cu cm
to 20cu cm are available to purchase
separately to suit individual requirements.
A headland manager system is available and
forward speed can be controlled via the option
of a 7-pin data cable and a signal from either
the tractor or a GPS antenna.
www.farmingmonthly.co.uk