Straw harrow and knife roller

New pre-working tools for the Catros compact disc harrow

Due to increasing weather extremes and stronger regulation in the use of pesticides, the framework conditions for good crop management in plant production are constantly being changed. In order for crops to have the ideal start and growing conditions in their early development, better field hygiene will continue to gain in importance. This is the reason behind why AMAZONE is presenting its new pre-working tools, the straw harrow and knife roller, for the AMAZONE Catros 03, Catros⁺ 03 and Catros^XL 03 compact disc harrows at Agritechnica 2019. This optional equipment optimises the crushing and improves the distribution of crop residues and therefore for accelerating the decomposition process. The disease pressure caused by harmful biotic factors for the following crop and the need for pesticides can be greatly reduced as a result.

Together with the already familiar Crushboard and wheel mark eradicators, customers now have a variety of optional equipment available to them depending on the existing machine in order to make Catros suitable for seedbed preparation, as well as the improved shredding and distribution of organic matter.
 

Straw harrowThe straw harrow is available in conjunction with a mounting frame for the 3-point linkage mounted Catros 03, Catros⁺ 03 and Catros^XL 03 models. The Catros^XL-2TS and Catros^XL-2TX can now also be equipped with this additional tool.

The harrow tines have a material thickness of 12 mm and overload safety protection provided by the integrated coil springs. The height of the complete harrow can be adjusted either mechanically, via easy-to-reach turnbuckles, or hydraulically during operation. A scale that is easy to read from the cab informs the driver of the set working depth. In addition, the angle of attack can be adjusted in the direction of travel from standing vertically to a strongly trailing position in order to adjust the intensity of the harrow to different crop residue quantities. The straw harrow allows the customer subsequently to improve the straw distribution during the first stubble cultivation. In this way, pockets of straw in the soil profile are reduced and better germination conditions are achieved and, as a result, a better early development of the following crop is achieved.
 

Knife roller for Catros 03, Catros⁺ 03 and Catros^XLFor the up-front shredding of any surface organic matter, AMAZONE is presenting a knife roller that runs in front of the disc element for Catros compact disc harrows. This roller can be mounted on all mounted and trailed Catros 03, Catros⁺ 03 and Catros^XL 03 models and is therefore available for compact disc harrows with a working width from 2.5 m to 9 m.

The knife roller has a diameter of 330 mm. The permanently oil-lubricated bearings with face seal are maintenance-free. Depending on the working width of the machine, the knife roller is divided into smaller segments with possible widths of 1 m, 1.5 m or 2 m. During work, the roller is swung into the working position from the cab and is tensioned hydraulically. The division into the various different segments and the pressure exerted hydraulically, means that the roller can follow the ground contours perfectly, even in uneven terrain, and can safely knock down any harvest residues across the entire working width. If this additional effect is not required in front of the disc element, the roller is hydraulically swivelled upwards and completely deactivated as a result.

For a better shredding quality and the avoidance of lateral forces, the 6 knives are mounted in a V-formation on the shaft. In order to minimise the cost of wearing parts, reversible knives made of tempered drill steel are installed on the knife rollers, which can be turned in case of wear. The high material thickness of 8 mm also contributes in lowering maintenance costs and therefore in reduced wear costs.

The knife roller in front of an AMAZONE compact disc harrow gives professional agri-businesses maximum flexibility in soil tillage. It gives these farms the option of carrying out an extremely shallow soil tillage with a simultaneous crushing of stubbles, e.g. during the initial stubble cultivation after rape. The knife roller is also ideal for working in tall catch crops, maize stubbles or following sunflowers. In particular, long stubbles are cut transversely to the direction of travel and then incorporated with the subsequent disc element. In addition, the knife roller can be completely deactivated hydraulically, thereby reducing the tractive force requirement and fuel consumption again where the knife roll is no longer needed.