Has anyone got experience of the Horizon DSX. It’s new to the market but has some smart ideas across the drill and £/m seems reasonable. Just wanted to know if those ideas and cost actually come together to make a decent direct drill. I’m on clay ground and looking to drill into a mixture of conditions but mostly direct into stubble.
Horizon DSX experiences
- Thread starter rtc
- Start date
- Location
- Grantham
We have taken delivery this autumn of one of these so will be able to tell you more when it has been used.
Robert
Member
- Location
- South East
We tried a dsx, bought an avatar.
We did like the row cleaner on the dsx amongst some of the other features including the liquid tank,the guttler style closing wheel wasn't available when we were making the decision might have made the choice harder for us.
We did like the row cleaner on the dsx amongst some of the other features including the liquid tank,the guttler style closing wheel wasn't available when we were making the decision might have made the choice harder for us.
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We have tested DSX drill in Latvia in heavy clay soils versus Novag and Avatar drills. By far the most capable dril notill disc drill for various cropping conditions we have run here . Does not like very light soils that have been cultivated without being pressed. You may end up with the seed at the depth of 10 cm for 1 row (the middle one). On 25 cm row spacing this might not be a problem. But we have run it 90% as a direct drill. We had a competion in here for seed placement and it got the 1st place. The control depth was 3 cm and the avarage seed depth was 3.04 cm.
clbarclay
Member
- Location
- Worcestershire
What sort of weight/pressure do the dsx coulters typically need on them in work? Is it appreciably different to other disc drills?
They are set to work anywhere between 10-60 bar of down pressure. On cultivated soils we are typically using mostly 10 bar, in direct drilling depending on soil type 20-40 bar. The most we have used is 50 bar when establishing spring beans (7 cm) on very dry, hard high Mg heavy clay soil. In comparison, the same farmer tested the 6 m Avatar on the same field and even with the ballast weights on the wings it really struggled to penetrate the soil and the 240 hp Case Puma was working with 100% load. Penetration is superior when using undercut design openers compared to the vertical ones. If any more questions you can send me a PM. I have used it for 2 years now and just passed 1200 ha mark.
- Location
- East Sussex
How has the drill been going?
- Location
- Grantham
Gentle start this week with Barley on some stoney ground, needing only 20 bar downforce on the opener. This ground has been direct drill for 6 years now. about 2 bar, 30 kg on the closing wheel. Seed rate was a little light initially due to the tank lid not being tight enough, all sorted now. Very accurate seed rate now and seed placement.
- Location
- East Sussex
What is the benefit of the pressurised tank over standard? I see quite a few drills have this now
Will Blackburn
Member
- Location
- Cheshire
I thought it's either pressurised or an Accord metering set up.
Simon Chiles
DD Moderator
- Location
- Surrey/ Kent Border, UK
The tank needs to be pressurised on most air drills to keep the seed metering accurate at low hopper contents otherwise the air flow would blow some of the seed back through the metering unit. Not necessary on an accord unit as the air tube has a gap in it so that the air flow creates a slight vacuum that sucks the seed into it.
To get on your wick when fitting a hopper camera
- Location
- East Sussex
Oh ok, nothing to be gained then really. Actually, it just sounds like something else to go wrong at some point
clbarclay
Member
- Location
- Worcestershire
Pressurising the hoppers means they don't need a venturi to suck the seed into the air flow. Venturis seem to have their limits if trying to blow seed a long way or at very high flow rates from a single metering unit.
Simon Chiles
DD Moderator
- Location
- Surrey/ Kent Border, UK
Not really a problem, it’s normally just a hose from the fan to the hopper and lids on the hopper with seals.
- Location
- S.E
Tried a Horizon this season and was impressed. Does anyone think they will make a 12m version on 25cm spacing like the horsch?
clbarclay
Member
- Location
- Worcestershire
If you hop over the channel, Sly France make a 12m.
A report from Latvia.
Some WOSR on 40 cm spacing drilled with rowcleaners adjusted to work aggressively ( 90% of wheat due to the storm was logged and drilled 10 days after harvest).
And the boring stuff.. WB on cultivated light land and notill wheat. Successful notill starts with good rotation. Conditions for wheat drilling were far away from perfect, but we do not have the privilege for late drilling. For notill wheat the best time to drill is late august - early september, because winter can visit us even in october. So we want to have stronger roots and some tillers before the crop wakes up in April and stems in May..
Some WOSR on 40 cm spacing drilled with rowcleaners adjusted to work aggressively ( 90% of wheat due to the storm was logged and drilled 10 days after harvest).
And the boring stuff.. WB on cultivated light land and notill wheat. Successful notill starts with good rotation. Conditions for wheat drilling were far away from perfect, but we do not have the privilege for late drilling. For notill wheat the best time to drill is late august - early september, because winter can visit us even in october. So we want to have stronger roots and some tillers before the crop wakes up in April and stems in May..
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Recieved our DSX end of March 2023 in this incredibly wet Spring here in Kent, have not yet had a chance to try it out properly now end of April with still some Spring wheat & barley to drill, ground just too wet for the DSX, had to revert to the Claydon Hybrid with it problems of encouraging blackgrass. At least it goes where the DSX won't. God knows what Spring wheat sown in May will yield