«Previous    Next»
Banding Incorporator Cuts Chemical Coats
Canadian farmer Cornie Thiessen, of Miami, Man., cut his preplant chemical costs 65% and eliminated two trips across the field by building a banding device for his 8-row Max-Emerge 7000 planter that sprays and incorporates chemicals in front of each row unit.
Thiessen, who now manufactures and sells the device , says he was inspired to develop it by his desire to get away from using Atrazine but to still apply a chemical preplant. He bands Eradicane and Lasso with the unit, eliminating separate trips to apply and incorporate the materials. After the crop emerges, he follows up with cultivation as needed.
Thiessen applies the chemicals, along with a liquid fertilizer, in 8 in. bands but can also equip the units for 10 in. bands.
The 8-row bander attaches to the front of the planter and requires that a longer hitch be installed on the planter. For each corn row there's a hood ù 24 in. long, 12 in. wide and 16 in. high ù that contains both the spray nozzle and a rotor that incorporates the chemical. The hoods are spaced at 36 in. intervals.
Each rotor has 4 rotating blades that incorporates chemicals into the soil. The rotors are powered by the tractor pto off a gearbox mounted on the planter hitch. Two of the units are powered directly off the oil bath chain drive, while the other units are powered by universal drives that run off the chain drives.
The chemical is sprayed onto the soil directly in front of but not hitting the rotors. Thiessen uses nozzles that spray an 8 in. band and adjusts them so spray doesn't hit the side of the hoods.
On the back of the hood, Thiessen installed a spring-loaded door that lets chunks of dirt and plant roots pass through.
He notes that his bander fits most 4, 6 and 8 row planters on the market. It bolts on the planter with 8 bolts. A setup for an 8 row planter costs $9,000 (Canadian).
For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Cornie Thiessen, Box 92, Miami, Man., Canada R0G 1H0 (ph 204 435-2093).


  Click here to download page story appeared in.



  Click here to read entire issue




To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.
Order the Issue Containing This Story
1984 - Volume #8, Issue #1