Potato equipment manufacturer AVR announces the launch of the trailed Ceres 450 combined potato planter. The Ceres 450 is a four-row trailed potato planter with a hopper capacity of up to either 7,700 or 8,800 pounds.
Each individual potato row assembly can be disconnected manually (electrical is also available as an option). The total wheel movement from left to right is 30 degrees. A clever mechanical design ensures the rotation axis always remains vertical and that the wheels constantly remain in contact with the ground.
When planting potatoes, the primary advantage of a trailed machine—besides the weight distribution—is the fact that the user can also combine the Ceres 450 with tilling equipment, such as AVR’s specially designed GE-Force C ridge cultivator, the basic AVR GE-Force and with other brands.
Culti Control option
The Culti Control is a useful option. It ensures that the GE-Force C always maintains a constant cultivation depth, enabling the user to avoid double passes. The potato planting depth is always set independently.
Straight or round-sided ridges
To obtain a good ridge, it is vital to not only select the correct ridging hood, but also to set it correctly. The 4 × 75-centimeter version of the Ceres 450 is therefore equipped with a narrow-top ridging hood with round sides or a wide-top hood (wear plates with special coating made from Boron 27) with straight sides. The 4 × 90-centimerter version is equipped with a wide-top ridging hood) and straight sides.
The ridging hood is operated as standard by means of an automatic pressure control. The accumulator in the hydraulic circuit ensures the hood is always kept under constant pressure. The user can also opt for the well-known PDC system (proportionally distance-controlled). This system uses two ultrasound sensors to measure the amount of soil in the hood. Based on this input, the pressure on the hood is adjusted to maintain even ridging.
The tipping hopper on a potato planter without a ridging hood can be lowered to such an extent that a trailer full of seed can be unloaded straight into the hopper of the potato planter. This only requires dismantling the wooden beam.
Soil and crop protection
Protecting the soil during the potato planting process? The Ceres 450’s anti-erosion option moves up and down to create small terraced levels between the earthed-up ridges. This terracing prevents the soil from being washed away during heavy rainfall. The planter can also be fitted with fertilizer, powder, grain and/or spraying systems to protect the crops.
Control
The control panel of the Ceres 450 is designed the same as all other AVR equipment. The user can use the 7-inch touch screen to program the macro functions with just the push of a button. The associated joystick is ergonomically designed.
If the tractor can be equipped with a GPS system, it will be able to control two aspects: on the one hand, switching the potato planting channel feeders, their vibrators and jets on and off; and on the other hand, the spray path system.