Browsing for innovations at PotatoEurope cultivation and technology Competing 8-row planters like good friends next to each other As if they were close friends, Grimme and WM showed their 8-row planting machines in good spirit next to each other in the PotatoEurope demonstration field. In reality, the two brands are embroiled in a legal conflict over the patent for the folding system of the outside planting elements. This is what WM-planting machine designer, Anton Schmidbauer, told us during the event. This German constructional engineer already built the first 8-row planter himself four years ago on the instructions of a customer. Meanwhile, together with WM, a unique planter has been developed with a patent for the technology of the folding parts. Folded out, the outside planting elements receive the potatoes from the hopper via a conveyor belt. They can be hydraulically folded in and turned forward for road transport. As far as the other parts of the machine are concerned, they are quite conventional. Both Grimme and WM use hoppers that are similar to the ones employed in the current 4-row planters. And that is the most striking thing, really, because they employ the same 4-ton hopper as on the 4-row machines. This means that the hopper empties twice as quickly as the Full upgrade of Mafex atomiser Mantis ULV from the German Geesthacht introduced a completely renewed Mafex atomiser system in August. PotatoEurope provided an excellent stage to introduce the upgrade. Apart from the well-known spray head, the system has been completly changed when compared to its predecessor The new device now includes a compression pump made of high-quality plastic, which can endure aggressive substances. This new pump also has a greater capacity. The Mafex can now atomise 400 ml to 18 litres of solution per hour. If you use Gro Stop Ready, for example, you can treat up to 4-row machine and therefore needs to be refilled much faster. When working long plots, it is even questionable whether you can manage one round. Lots of visitors at the show were heard to comment that, if you really want to reach a matching capacity increase, you need at least a 6,000 kilogram hopper. 95 tons of potatoes per hour. Furthermore, the Mafex is now provided with a flow metre and a computer that stores data such as usage and duration of the treatment. Another novelty is that the atomisers continue running for a short while after the solution supply has stopped, which keeps them cleaner. The pump unit also has an alarm to indicate that the storage container with germination inhibitor is empty or almost empty. The standard model with one pump (which can easily be expanded to four) costs € 2,087 plus VAT. A flow meter costs € 120 extra. Potato World 2010 • number 4 17 Pagina 16
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