Agricultural Pto powered scarifier-Why doesn’t it exist?

[Macsky]

Why do you not see any large pto powered scarifier type implements? Like a rotary spring tine Harrow/beefed up baler pick up reel? Instead of multiple passes in old matted swards, a single pass with something proper would do the job? Surely someone has had a go?

 

[Robt]

Trilo VCU 240 ground care and maintenance scarifier from The Grass Group

The Trilo VCU 240 Verticut unit is perfect for racecourses, sports fields, polo clubs, turf farms, flat areas and parks, and is the solution for all your thatch problems

www.thegrassgroup.com

 

[Goweresque]

Presumably because there's a thin line between scarifying and rotavating? Scarifiers are used on fine turf surfaces, which are usually extremely well maintained to start with, so the tolerances between machine and ground will be very controlled. And thus getting the right balance between too much and not enough is relatively simple.

A scarifier aimed at agricultural use would have to deal with undulations, low spots, high spots, stones, ruts, mole hills, being strong enough not to break but also not rotavate the ground when crossing a high spot. I'm sure it could be done in engineering terms, but I bet it would be very expensive.

 

[Macsky]

It would need to be a sprung tine I’m sure, but getting one that’s flexible enough not to cultivate, but strong enough to stand up to the job wouldn’t be easy I doubt.

 

[Classichay]

Just buy an opico and go over twice? It’s not sports turf.

 

[Macsky]

Just buy an opico and go over twice? It’s not sports turf.

I’ve done that before and two passes didn’t really make much difference. Job it was doing you’d be needing 4+.

 

[Dave W]

I’ve done that before and two passes didn’t really make much difference. Job it was doing you’d be needing 4+.

I've used plenty of sports turf scarifiers. The simple answer is you'll do 20 passes with an opico in the same time you'd do 1 with a 3m pto driven