Modula Pro, an electric machinery for quincunx sowing
The new "Pro" version of the Modula model is appreciated for the innovative quincunx seeding management system, the device for the laying of the mulching film with mechanized and automated operations at the beginning and end of the field, the system to store and transfer work data
The spread of organic products, the reduction of active ingredients available for the control of weeds, the difficulties in chemically contrasting some weeds have stimulated the adoption of sowing on mulching film both for horticultural and extensive crops such as rice, corn, sugar beet, quinoa, soya, and other seed legumes. Sowing on mulch film, however, requires seed drills that can drill the hole on the film and lay the seed. For this reason, the Forigo Roteritalia a company from Mantova (headquartered in Ostiglia) has designed the Modula precision seeder, an electronically controlled electrical application, which is proposed in the new Modula Pro version at the Bologna exhibition. Forigo Roteritalia’s novelty is presented with an innovative management system for quincunx seeding, a device for laying of the mulching film with electrified and automated operations at the beginning and the end of the field, a system for storing and transferring the working data.
“The quincunx seeding - the manufacturer explains in a note - is very beneficial because it allows making the best possible use of the spaces for a more balanced growth of the plant. Furthermore, the simultaneous application of the mulching film considerably facilitates field operations”. In fact, the quincunx seed deposition device is interfaced with the electronic system that manages the seeding, it automatically adapts the rotation speed of the seeding disc which, in turn, is adapted to the feed rate, but only in the phases in which no element of the application is inserted into the soil. In this way - explains Forigo Roteritalia - the hole on the mulching film is performed with the utmost precision.
The seed transfer from the hopper to the seeding disc is regulated by a high precision volumetric dispenser and is not continuous. The seed passes from the dispenser to the tool on the sowing disk only when the two openings fit perfectly; in this way, the rotation of the dispenser is synchronized with the disc one. On the other hand, the onboard electronics continuously adapt the rotational speed of the dispenser to the speed of the seeding disc, which in turn depends on the feed rate. «On the Modula Pro model - continues the manufacturer - we have introduced a software that, through a CAN-BUS protocol, allows managing the relative position of the tools in order to coordinate them, and realize system layouts in line or quincunx between all the sowing lines mounted on the seeder». The mulching film roller is a completely electric device integrated on the seeder that allows mechanizing and automating the field operations (beginning and end of the sowing) it is entirely managed by the operator through the display. In fact, at the beginning of the sowing the film is placed on the ground and topped up; at the end of the field, however, the film is cut while the one already stretched is tucked up to prevent it from being lifted by the wind. Once this operation is completed, Modula Pro performs the maneuver and resumes working in the field.
The stretch-film is placed in the front position and is made of a frame with a front roller that prepares the ground; a series of rollers support the rolling of the film on which two pneumatic wheels act, pulling the film at the same feed speed as the machinery.
A rear roller, equipped with serrated blades, covers the mulching film with soil or cuts it.
