Low seed rates.

Could you mix the seed with kiln dry sand ,it will run freely as long as it doesnt ware the metering unit

Could you cut the spider wheel down or change it for a smaller one? Or get a different set of sprockets made?
On my old one you could take out peg wheels in the metering and replace them with blanks. Not used it for years though.

Easiest option would be to bulk out new seed with some 'off the heap'

Wait till the pigeons thin it

May be add a few slug pellets?

KennyO said:

Easiest option would be to bulk out new seed with some 'off the heap'

Click to expand...

Be too thick surely? Mix with a starter osr fertiliser designed for the job?

Heard of mixing tapioca in with stubble neep seed

Some people here mix a little annual clover seed with it. Something not frost tolerant like Egyptian clover so the winter gets rid of it after its helped cover the bare ground and pulled a few units of N out of the air.

Could you change the metering wheel make it bigger with the same setting

Chae1 said:

Sowing osr at the moment with horstine seeder on 3m drill. 4 outlets.

Can't get seed rate low enough. Target is 0.8kg/acre cant get below 1.2.

Have smallest seed metering unit in it. Smallest driver wheel a largest driven.

Any ideas to get it lower? Did wonder about adding something to dilute it. Metering unit is so fine though need to be careful not to restrict it

Click to expand...

i have no idea or knowledge about the metering mechanism that you talk about, but do have a bit of experience with seeders in general . . .

some airseeder bins here have “blanking off” plates in front of each metering roller, which effectively only expose a portion ( depending on size of plate & reduction needed ) of the roller to the seed, thus reducing the rate by that amount.

on other seed bins without this feature, I have cut pvc pipe of the right diameter ( eg Simplicity airseeder bins, the metering rollers are approx 75mm diameter, approx 75mm wide with 3 segments, so 75mm white pvc pipe is a neat fit over it ) , to whatever length to cover say half the roller, split it lengthways & just slipped it over the roller. So, if i cut it to 50mm long, it would effectively cover two thirds of that roller ( or 2 of the 3 segments ), reducing the rate by 2/3rds

on other occasions, I have just wrapped duct tape around them to cover a proportion of the roller & thus reduce the amount of seed it is metering.

by doing this, I have successfully & accurately sown canola at 2kg / ha, over 1000's of hectares, using the same metering rollers that I’ve used to put out 200kg of beans . . .

personally, with very low rates, I find it gives a more even seed distribution if you can keep the rollers turning at a reasonable speed ( by reducing the amount of seed that they actually meter ), rather than trying to slow them down too much, as that then tends to “clump” seed rather than a smooth even flow. If that makes sense ?

many airseeder manufacturers also have different rollers with either deep or fine flutes on them, depending on the product or rates you are using.

I would be much more inclined to try blanking off rollers etc etc & getting it all calibrated accurately in your yard, than trying to mix other product with your seed to “dilute” the rate. In my experience, the seed will settle out due to vibration & your calibration / rates will vary & be inconsustent. It is also difficult to get an even & consistent mix with your seed & the "filler" product

With trying to get very low rates by slowing down the rollers too much, but having a full flow of seed to them, it is a bit like dropping a handful of seed say every 5 seconds, whereas if the rollers are turning faster with a smaller flow to them, it is like a constant trickle of seed, not “clumps”, if that makes sense ?

even at the same rate / ha, a constant stream of seed gives better distribution in the row than a handful every 5 seconds . . .

How many Coulter's are you using, could you block every other one?

You can get Y shaped adapters to split 1 pipe into 2, blank half the holes at the meter.

From memory I think it was called 'tiger sulphur prills' from agrii rep. We used to bulk osr rape seed out . roughly same size and density as osr, so no separation issues

Ring horstine.

literally millions of ha of canola are planted the way i have said, rather than "diluting" the seed . . .