Giant No Till Drill Injects Pop Up Water Into Row

Giant no till drill injects pop up water into row PLANTERS Planters 12-3-32 A Western Canadian farmer who wants to reduce the risk of crop failures in dry years has built a first-of-its-kind giant no-till drill that injects water into the row. Paul Christman, Peace River, Athena, calls his big machine a "Wondervator" because, he says, everyone who sees it wonders what it is. The machine is a 1-pass sprayer, cultivator, deep bander, harrow, seeder, water injector, and packing harrow. Christman spent $50,000 to build the machine because conventional methods weren't working for him. "There were too many crop failures, often because of uneven germination, frost damage, and other events that seemed beyond our control. We tried to farm the recommended ways, using the proper chemicals and fertilizers but then along came dry years and it was all for nothing." The Wondervator applies 250 gal. of "pop-up" water per acre, injecting it into the row right along with the seed. Other cornponents of the machine include: • Two rows of cultivator shanks with 16 in. sweeps. - • Two rows of banding boots on spikes for deep banding fertilizer one inch below the sweeps' working depth. •Four rows of spray nozzles for soil-incorporated chemicals or broadleaf weed control. •Three-row tine harrow with 18-in. tines. • A set of diamond drag harrows. • Two rows of seed tubes with the water injector nozzles for `pop-up' germination. The machine has inipressive carrying capacities, including: • Chemicals - 600 gal. • Seed - 140 cu. ft. • Dry fertilizer - 140 cu. ft. • Water tanks - 2,500 gal. Total weight of the 22-ft. wide drill is 18,000 lbs. Fully loaded, it weighs 60,000 lbs. Christman says the extra effort required to operate the big drill - which is narrower than most drills used on the Western plains - is worth it. "We can do the same work in a day as our neighbors who need three passes to do the same set of operations. We have the advantage of seeding right into stubble and not drying out the top soil." Christman seeded 1,600 acres with the machine last year. "We averaged 100 acres a day, injecting 250 gal. per acre while seeding and applying trifluralin with 30 gal. of water," he says. Contact FARM SHOW Followup, Paul C. Christman, 85 Langholm Drive, St. Albert, Alberta, T8N 4N7 Canada (ph 403 458-1397). Story and photos reprinted from Grainews.

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.