Sumo DTS for OSR

[vf949]

Hi Guys,

Normally use plough and then contractor with combination drill for all drilling here including cereals, beans and OSR.

This year to conserve moisture we are thinking of getting a local contractor with a Sumo DTS to direct drill the WOSR into barley stubble.

How suitable are these machines for drilling OSR? Are they good at keeping the seed depth consistently shallow like is needed for OSR? Is there any risk that some of the seeds will drop deep into the deep channel created by the leading tine?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Devon James]

I use the yellow version of a strip till drill and get on fine with it for osr. After barley should be good tilth on the surface to put the seed into

 

[E_B]

Did always wonder about that with these machines as the coulter sits immediately behind the leading leg, and so you'd think there would be no time for the soil burst to settle before the seed is placed. However, I don't recall @Shutesy mentioning this as a problem.

 

[Oscar]

Been doing this for 5 years and works well on my soils which are mainly sandy and medium soils however I have some nasty red clay and you do need to be careful a bout slots and it needs rolling at an angle. One thing in general to watch is that it is very easy to drill too deep ie it will look like that the drill leg is only resting on the ground however when moving with soil flowing it will be ideal. Better if someone else can help to set up at start, one driving and one observing whats happening under the drill.

 

[Wheatland]

We generally use a 5” pair row coulter so the seed sits on the ledge either side of front legs path.
I have a grain and fertiliser version and we have also tried using a 1” coulter and put the fertiliser through it with the seed in the fert hopper sprinkled on behind. This also works well.

 

[Brisel]

Hi Guys,

Normally use plough and then contractor with combination drill for all drilling here including cereals, beans and OSR.

This year to conserve moisture we are thinking of getting a local contractor with a Sumo DTS to direct drill the WOSR into barley stubble.

How suitable are these machines for drilling OSR? Are they good at keeping the seed depth consistently shallow like is needed for OSR? Is there any risk that some of the seeds will drop deep into the deep channel created by the leading tine?

Thanks in advance!

I also use a Claydon and have no trouble with this. Normally if you use the twin outlet coulter on a Sumo you can put seed either side of the slot. Claydon also recommend a single outlet for osr that I use if really trashy for the A share used for most applications. I agree about rolling at a slight angle. You'll get some corrugation of the seedbed so consolidation in the slot is harder so roll slowly and a set of rolls with breaker rings will help as the breakers can float with the contours.

In short, it's no big deal. Carry on!

 

[Shutesy]

Did always wonder about that with these machines as the coulter sits immediately behind the leading leg, and so you'd think there would be no time for the soil burst to settle before the seed is placed. However, I don't recall @Shutesy mentioning this as a problem.

Until this year we used the 5 inch wide coulter which leaves seed either side of the slot but I found on some of our heavier land it could smear a channel at times and it was hard to cover a shallow sown seed back up with tilth rather than wet clods. So this year Ive used the 1 inch coulter, I would estimate maybe 5% of the seed has dropped down the slot a bit far but most is in the top 2cm of tilth that has closed round the top of the slot before the coulter has sprinkled the seed on top and been covered in a bit of soil by the covering discs. Also the jet of liquid fert that runs in line with the slot is now putting fert exactly in the row rather than between the 2 rows you get out of a 5 inch coulter.
Basically @vf949 if your soils in good nick, not heavy compacted clay, then you should be fine, the DTS is a good OSR drill!

 

[vf949]

Thanks for the replies guys. Sounds like we should have no fears with the DTS!

 

[Rihards]

Be carefull with down pressure if You stay on wet clay. Better go with 15bar for legs and roll after 1 shiny day.

 

[vf949]

The soil is pretty sandy and is very dry at the moment.

 

[Rihards]

If You are going to drill in heavy trash I sugest You take of depth rings from disc, put them in max agressive position (hole nr. 3)and lower couple cm drawbar .It will cut through any trash and will go anywhere compared with yelow ...

 

[simonk88]

Rihards is correct, we have done this too! Use a DD press not a roll and then you actually press the seed into the soil in the slots rather than make it look nice and smooth on top.

 

[JCfarmer]

I have decided to hire a 4m DTS this year with lack of rain and moisture, mainly light to medium land after spring barley with straw removed but a thick stubble. Oscar can I ask how deep you run the leading tine? I take your point regarding coulter leg positioning. Rolling with cambridge rolls on light land at a slight angle still or straight behind the drill?

 

[Oscar]

7 inch s front tine. Roll at a angle but properly ie steady or roll twice at different angles , 24 hrs after.

 

[JCfarmer]

Thats what I have set them at today, different wear on some so different hole settings to even them up.

 

[gremlin]

The soil is pretty sandy and is very dry at the moment.

Thanks for the replies guys. Sounds like we should have no fears with the DTS!

Did you use a dts to so your osr, and what’s it like now?

 

[vf949]

Did you use a dts to so your osr, and what’s it like now?

Yes we sure did @gremlin and it worked out very well. We got excellent establishment throughout. I'll get a photo the next time I'm in the crop.

 

[gremlin]

Thanks
We’ve just bought a 4m trailed dts for this next seed time, am just interested how people got on in osr with them, when we demoed the 3m toolbar this time we just put some barley and wheat in, but were impressed with the job it made, a nice level finish.

 

[Rihards]

New or used 4m trailed?

 

[gremlin]

A new one that puts fert down as well, hoping to put my phosphate when drilling, so I can variable rate potash in the spring