Kuhn Quantron S2 Variable Seed

[R123]

As the title suggests, is the Kuhn Quantron S2 terminal capable of Variable Seed Rate (from plans i.e SOYL) in its standard form? Are there any users of the S2 with any advice/experience of this? Or is it only possible to achieve variable seed rate sowing through ISOBUS? Drill in question is a Megant. Thank you in advance

 

[KB6930]

I'd suspect it'll be the same as I used to do with the kuhn fert spreader the plan will be uploaded to another device I used to use a patchwork black box which then controls the spreader. Or in your case a drill

 

[PSQ]

I'd suspect it'll be the same as I used to do with the kuhn fert spreader the plan will be uploaded to another device I used to use a patchwork black box which then controls the spreader. Or in your case a drill

Yup. Export an NMEA message from a third party device/s into the Kuhn control box.

Does the S2 (presumably Muller) have something like 'Muller Task Control' software like the Mullers on Horsch drills?
It would mean you can run a GPS cable to the S2 and then just run a plan through Task Control.

If not, then this thread shows a picture of a Trimble FM750 sending a GPS signal to an RDS rate control box (that usually lives in the sprayer) that then exports an NMEA message to an Agtron control box for a Horsch drill.
https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/kuhn-quantron-data-export.46664/
Fast forward 10 years and I'm still using the same GPS and RDS unit to control VR fert with a 'Quantron E' controller on a Kuhn 30.1 spreader.

And a word to the wise: if you're already set up to make VRA nitrogen plans for fertiliser, then use the same software to make your seed plans based on the same satellite NDVI images, it's so much more accurate than guessing seed rate zones. The key is to set your 'fertiliser' N rate to 100% 'N', and then set your minimum and maximum rates to where you want them to be. For wheat on challenging ground, my min is the previous flat rate (183kg/ha - ie grandads "12 stone") and the high is 240kg/ha to kick on the crap bits, on my plan it averages at 215kg for the purposes of calculating seed requirement.
I know that many grumpy old types think it's witchcraft, but it's been working fine for me using the very same map (singular) I made in 2015.
There are more tricks to it, say if you want to know more.

 

[R123]

That’s all a great help, thank you. It is a drill that I have been looking at (not bought it yet) so was just thinking about future proofing a system with a view to being able to do variable rate seeding at some point. ISOBUS is an option as the drill tractor has that capability so I’d imagine (in my simple world) that it would just need ISOBUS cable from the drill to the tractor (if the drill has ISOBUS output (I’d need to check this). From your reply’s though it sounds as though the quantron terminal could be used alongside an additional gps terminal? (currently running Claas S10)

 

[R123]

And a word to the wise: if you're already set up to make VRA nitrogen plans for fertiliser, then use the same software to make your seed plans based on the same satellite NDVI images, it's so much more accurate than guessing seed rate zones. The key is to set your 'fertiliser' N rate to 100% 'N', and then set your minimum and maximum rates to where you want them to be. For wheat on challenging ground, my min is the previous flat rate (183kg/ha - ie grandads "12 stone") and the high is 240kg/ha to kick on the crap bits, on my plan it averages at 215kg for the purposes of calculating seed requirement.
I know that many grumpy old types think it's witchcraft, but it's been working fine for me using the very same map (singular) I made in 2015.

Interesting stuffI use Soyl for variable rate N (liquid), so would you use the same NDVI images to generate a plan for variable seed rate and not use the Soyl produced maps of the conductivity tests?

 

[PSQ]

That’s all a great help, thank you. It is a drill that I have been looking at (not bought it yet) so was just thinking about future proofing a system with a view to being able to do variable rate seeding at some point. ISOBUS is an option as the drill tractor has that capability so I’d imagine (in my simple world) that it would just need ISOBUS cable from the drill to the tractor (if the drill has ISOBUS output (I’d need to check this). From your reply’s though it sounds as though the quantron terminal could be used alongside an additional gps terminal? (currently running Claas S10)

Ask the salesman Kuhn technical support (see below) about required VR unlocks for the drill AND the control box AND / OR the Isobus terminal, and perhaps get it in writing.
I bought my Horsch sprinter in 2016 with a Muller control box, asked the salesman if the drill was unlocked for VR, was told yes, and then found out that the Horsch / Muller control box would need an unlock at £800, and ended up splitting the bill with the dealer…

I’m not familiar with the Quantron S, but if the older 2006 Quantron E can accept a VR input from another device then I’d be surprised if a modern Quantron box couldn’t. Might be worth contacting someone at Kuhn customer support directly, instead of playing Chinese whispers with a salesman who might be winging it.

 

[PSQ]

Interesting stuffI use Soyl for variable rate N (liquid), so would you use the same NDVI images to generate a plan for variable seed rate and not use the Soyl produced maps of the conductivity tests?

Yes, exactly the same images. The problem is choosing which image should you use, as it should be one from ‘an average season’ with ‘normal’ growth. If you use one from this year it will show NDVI of a wet year with flooded patches etc. If you use spring 2022 it might show a dry season with drought on sandy areas etc, so choosing an ‘average’ season can be tricky. April images should show up poor areas (which is the type of image you need to use) while the good bits are at full potential, certainly wouldn’t choose an image earlier than late March.

I’m not a fan of conductivity mapping, all they really seem show is surface moisture on the day of sampling, which might be a result of soil type, or texture, or just the topography of the land and underlying drainage. I’ve got some scans for fields here, but they don’t seem to correlate to yield maps or NDVI’s, or the pH maps etc.
They do kind of show changes in texture, but NDVI from a flat rate sown crop shows up soil limitations so much better. I started to print off NDVI’s from about 2010, 1 a month, and I pinned them to the office wall. Did the same thing the next year, and the next, and it was plain to see that the crap bits were in the same place year after year. Roll on to a very cloudy and wet 2012 and VR Fert was a waste of time, realised the horse had bolted before the spreader got near the field, and that the drill was where VR was needed. Haven’t done VR nitrogen since, as the fields need to perform corner to corner, there aren’t any thin areas left.