rapeseed
strip till
drill - rsl
RSL rapeseed strip till drilling
Growing rapeseed/oilseed is one of the most profitable crops in farming. Though, profitability is not
defined by high prices of rapeseed in the market.
As in every business profit comes from positive subtraction of total turnover and costs, including
fields preparation, seeding costs, fertilizers, spraying,
harvesting, drying, etc. Strip tilling highly reduce costs in general. Fields preparation in
conventional farming is a very expensive addition to overall costs.
Rapeseed strip till drilling omits many unnecessary operations. Farming this way allows you to
increase profitability, as well your farm will diminish erosion and help to improve fertility of
your soils.
In rapeseed strip till drilling, we are not pursuing best yields, but seek top returns. For this
reason, Laumetris has created a specialized strip till seeder only for rapeseed drilling.
A tool designed for one purpose and one purpose only. RSL is not just a conceptional strip till
drill, it is the machine which every attribute, every working part is developed to create the best
conditions for rapeseed growing.
Rapeseed root is thick and goes deep into soil, for this reason RSL has special tines with
possibility to till up to 30 cm of depth. All tines are equipped with wear points having carbide
tiles – and it is not an extra option, it is standard.
It is not cherry picking, Laumetris heavier class RSL drills are equipped with superior wear points
specifically designed and manufactured in the UK at Chapman’s having 15 carbide tiles. Lighter class
RSL-L models have thinner Hardox steel tines and wear points with two bigger carbide tiles.
Stainless steel tank for fertilizers assures durability and automatic rate control provides
stress-free usage of the machine. Control of liquid or mineral fertilization systems is done through
the APV control box or ISOBUS. Calibration is quick and simple.
Distance between strips in RSL models are 50 or 60 cm. It might seem big but rapeseed is not a standard cash crop. By increasing distance between strips, we reduce competition between plants. Rapeseed, having more nutrition from ground and space, grows additional side branches, which allows to acquire more sun and inevitably become stronger. Such plant has much more yield potential compared to a conventionally seeded rapeseed plant. Roots are considerably thicker concentrating more reserves, pests like Ceutorhynchus pallidactylus larvae do not kill the plant. Big strip distance allows to dramatically reduce seeding rate, target is 25-30 plants per square meter or 1,5-2,2 kg/ha. Again, this reduces costs of seed per season almost by double (considering 50 plants per square meter in conventional till) and harvesting yields are the same. Sometimes less is more.
Rapeseed strip till drilling combines the best attributes of both no tillage and conventional tillage technologies
1) Stubble is the best protection against erosion, as well topsoil protection highly reduces moisture evaporation, prevents weeds growing. Stubble also helps to linger snow during winter – better probability to withstand cold.
2) Soil is being tilled only at the seeding zone and narrow strip beneath it – the rest is untilled keeping soil structure unbroken. Low disturbance keeps soil aggregates intact, which benefits better water infiltration, maintains organic matter, keeps mycorrhizal fungal networks.
3) Earthworms are a sign of a healthy soil. It helps to convert old stubble to nutrients for freshly sprouted plants and improves soil fertility.
4) Laumetris RS and RSL drills prepare seedbeds in the best conditions for rapid germination. One of the key factors is bringing moisture to topsoil from beneath.
5) Mineral fertilizers are distributed throughout 5-15 cm of depth. 2/3 clients using Laumetris strip till drills combined together with mineral (BF) and liquid (LF) fertilization systems. Spraying of start-up liquid fertilizers adds up to rapid sprouting, mineral fertilizers are being consumed at a later stage.
6) Strip till technology enables farmers to reduce seeding rate as plants receive more sun, have less competition, better conditions to sprout, grow, have more side branches, stronger stems, are healthier and harvest results at the end stay the same or even increased. Comparing how many tillage processes are dropped, fuel and time saved – strip till technology highly increases profitability of the farm. CO2 emissions are reduced as a consequence of using strip till.
Seminars of growing rapeseed in wide strips
Together with our partners – farmers and agronomists we organize field days and seminars during cold season. As we talk about mechanics and manufacturing goals, our partners present their long-term experience in growing rapeseed in wide strip till technology. Winnings and reached yields are not the primary topics, we concentrate on challenges, difficulties and mistakes, therefore our clients would have a real-world qualification of how strip till drilling works and what to expect. Laumetris is not the only good subsoiler combined with rapeseed seeder manufacturer but probably the only one that manufactures specialized strip till drills for rapeseed. We put attention to rapeseed farming details and RSL is the result of it.
RSL technical specifications
Technical details listed in the table are preliminary| Model | RSL-2.5 | RSL-3.0 | RSL-3.5 | RSL-3.5T | RSL-4.0 | RSL-4.0T | RSL-4.5 | RSL-4.5T | RSL-5.5T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | mounted | trailed | mounted | trailed | mounted | trailed | |||
| Sowing width, m | 2,5 | 3,0 | 3,5 | 3,5 | 4,0 | 4,0 | 4,5 | 4,5 | 5,5 |
| Sowing depth, mm | 10-20 | ||||||||
| Tines operational depth, mm | up to 300 | ||||||||
| Tines, pcs | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
| Row distance, mm | 500 | 444 | 500 | ||||||
| Tine type | straight flatliner tine | ||||||||
| Tines protection | hydro-pneumatic | ||||||||
| Wear points with carbide tiles | + | ||||||||
| Front cutting discs quantity, pcs | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
| Precise sowing through discs, pcs | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
| Roller type | 600 mm U type | wheels | U type | wheels | U type | wheels | |||
| APV pneumatic seeder | PS120 with automatic seeding rate control (7 pin cable for speed) | ||||||||
| Fertilizing system | mineral - 800 ltr / liquid - 1100 ltr | mineral - 1200 ltr / liquid - 1500 ltr | mineral - 2000 ltr / liquid - 1900 ltr | ||||||
| Transportation width, m | 2,95 | 3,05 | 3,5 | 3,5 | 3,85 | 3,85 | 4,4 | 4,4 | 4,0 |
| Mass, kg | 2600 | 2900 | 3200 | 3600 | 3650 | 4150 | 3750 | 4500 | 6000 |
| Min. tractor power, HP | 160-200 | 180-210 | 200-250 | 180-250 | 265-315 | 250-300 | 280-320 | 260-310 | 350-400 |
| Additional equipment | |||||||||
| Radar or GPS sensor for APV seeder | + | ||||||||
| Liquid fertilizing system, ltr | 1100 | 1500 | 2000 | ||||||
| Mineral fertilizing system, ltr | 800 | 1200 | 2000 | ||||||
| Automatic rate control for liquid / mineral fert. system through APV control box | + | ||||||||
| APV Antislug chemical speader | MDP 40 / KS 40 | ||||||||
| Special steel pressing wheels for seeds | + | ||||||||
| Trailed version | + | standard | + | standard | + | standard | |||
| Additional wheel type roller, dia. 750 mm | + | ||||||||