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Cultivation of the land involves its timely top dressing if we want to get high-quality crops. The larger the site, the more time and effort this process requires. Special mechanisms make this work easier for farmers: a mineral fertilizer spreader and a separate organic fertilizer spreader. Multifunctional units can perform other work in the farm.
Types of fertilizer machines
The mechanisms used in the process of fertilizing the soil are divided not only by the type of fertilizer applied, they have different functions. There are devices for mixing, grinding, transporting fertilizers. Actually, the fertilizer spreader itself can be designed to apply only granular or fine-grained dusty dressings. There are devices for manure or liquid fertilizers.
There are self-propelled mechanisms, and there are various types of attachment to a tractor that transports them across the field: mounted, trailed and semi-trailed. In a small area, a manual fertilizer spreader can be used. It can even be homemade, made on the basis of a wheelbarrow or cart. The principle of spreading they can also be different: centrifugal, pendulum and pneumatic.
Direct assignment
The direct purpose of the spreader is to minimize the participation of a person in the hard, exhausting labor of cultivating the land. Since agricultural land is depleted at least 2 times a year – in autumn and spring, farmers are forced to fertilize. It is better if this is done by professional equipment under the guidance of a person. On our fields you can see the equipment of the German company Rauch. Mineral spreaders of this manufacturer, self-propelled and trailed, are very reliable. The simplicity of the design and the use of only high-quality materials ensure long-term trouble-free operation, accurate dosing and uniform flow of fertilizers into the soil across the entire working width. This technique does not allow for overdosing or spontaneous changes in concentration with changes in movement speed or terrain level.
The Prospread, Easypread, Protwin Slinger machines, manufactured by the French Kuhn Corporation, have a side and rear ejection device. They provide accurate dosing and uniform application of dressings to the soil. They have models with a hydraulic piston-pusher, the designs of which do without chains, that is, unnecessary moving parts. This French manufacturer encourages its customers to extend service maintenance, provided that the equipment is used correctly.
Danish brand Bogballe units are very easy to use because they have a minimum number of adjustments. The spreading rate is set by moving one handle. When spreading fertilizers, the disks rotate towards each other, this feature, together with the special shape of the blades, ensures the necessary uniformity of the area coverage. The machines provide ideal distribution of mixtures at the field borders, and not just in the middle of it. The bunker is equipped with screens for screening, which prevents lumps or too large fractions from entering the field.
The German company Güstrower offers models with a large width of the working area – up to 40 m. They are very rational with German frugality regarding expensive dressings. They can be adjusted for uniform spreading of different amounts of fertilizer mixtures: from 40 to 16000 kg per 1 ha. Fertilizers can be used in a variety of ways: loose, lumpy, humus, bird droppings, compost. The high flight path allows you to work not only on an unsown field, but even among grown plants. There are special devices that allow you to work among the rows of vegetables. Hydraulics drives the discs, the on-board computer communicates in 3 languages - German, English, .
Not only bulk chemicals, but also compost, manure, bird droppings, lime, bone meal, peat can be scattered by equipment from the Polish company Unia. Load capacity is provided from 5,5 to 10 tons. The Tytan 18 has wide wheels that make it easier to work on wet, slippery fields. Pendulum spreaders from the Norwegian manufacturer Kverneland are well known all over the world. They are produced at a factory in the Netherlands, like more traditional disk ones. They have electronic control systems, you do not need to leave the tractor cab at all for control, and a special corrective summer resident ensures uniform work on hills, as on a plain.
The most famous manufacturer of agricultural machinery, Amazone, also produces many models of fertilizer spreaders.
They are characterized by working width from 10 to 52 m, bunker volume from 1000 to 4200 l. Some models have the ability to weigh mixtures and determine the optimal rate. A universal computer with various useful functions has been developed for all equipment.
Video “The principle of operation of the device”
In this video you can see how the device works and what its principle is.
Advantages and disadvantages
The main advantage of this technique is the possibility of fertilizing large areas, the rapid transportation and distribution of several tons (or several tens of tons) of fertilizers necessary for plants across the field. This is completely impossible to do manually. Mechanical spreaders of mineral fertilizers evenly distribute the mixture over the field. Spreading of top dressings is carried out only during the movement of transport, whether it is a manual, self-propelled or tractor-mounted model. The most advanced models can be programmed so that different areas receive the concentration of fertilizer they need. Units can be used not only for their intended purpose. They will help to sow the field, scatter sand and other bulk materials.
The main disadvantage can be considered the price of such devices. Therefore, some craftsmen are trying to make a manual spreader with their own hands. Such a home-made unit can cope with small areas, but in a large farm it is better to have a mechanism from a good manufacturer. Among the variety of models and manufacturers, you can choose exactly the one that will do an excellent job on your farm, even if its payback lasts for several years.
Устройство
The manual device has to be pushed across the field, which is not very convenient. Mounted spreader is a metal frame attached to the tractor with brackets. The fertilizer trailer is attached to the frame at the rear. A hopper with two discs is installed on the frame, they rotate due to the tractor shaft, the centrifugal force causes the fertilizers to scatter.
The trailed fertilizer spreader is equipped with a special hopper. It contains a screw, the movement of which causes the movement of the mixture. The speed of the auger can be controlled, this allows you to adjust the flow of the fertilizer mixture depending on the required concentration in different areas. Sometimes a restrictive plate, a protective awning, a container for sorting the substance are additionally installed. A self-propelled sprinkler is typically used to apply liquid organic fertilizers. It is equipped with two consoles made of duralumin pipes, on which special heads are located, which produce spraying.
A primitive manual spreader (seeder) can be homemade. It is based on a box and two running wheels. 11 holes are made in the box, they are closed with rotating plates. 2 ejectors are placed above the plates, you can also attach a turner. When the wheels move, the rotation is fed to the plates, to the shaft of the ejector and the agitator. This homemade design causes the fertilizer from the box to fall onto the rotating plates, and from them to the ground with relative uniformity.
Video “Hand-held device for the garden”
Video review on a manual spreader that can be used even in a small garden or garden.
