Exclusive test drive with the Crucianelli Plantor 2450 seeder.

While still relatively unknown in Brazil, Crucianelli is a traditional company in the Argentinian market. There, it is a market leader, producing seeders and fertilizer distributors for many years. The company plans to be among the top five planting companies in the world by 2030, and Brazil plays a crucial role in achieving this goal. The factory in Argentina is located in the city of Armstrong, in the province of Santa Fe, the cradle of the Argentinian agricultural machinery industry. They specialize in planting machinery and bring their experience and innovations to Brazil, which we will share with our readers.

The machine we tested for this edition is a pre-production model manufactured in Brazil, produced at the São Carlos factory in the state of São Paulo. Crucianelli established an agreement with the well-known Brazilian group Piccin to share space and expertise between these two traditional companies.

Thus, the Crucianelli-Piccin Alliance (ACP) was established through the strategic union of the two companies, sharing strategic areas while continuing individual operations in other areas. Crucianelli then built its own building, housing its Engineering and Production departments, and shares all other common areas within the alliance.

The Plantor 2450 seeder that we tested is from the Plantor family, perhaps the most important currently manufactured by the brand, and was chosen for Brazil due to the recognized demands of our market.

The Planter line has two structures: one that folds to 3,9 m after articulation, and another with a transport width of 3,2 m, which greatly simplifies moving it from one location to another according to Brazilian regulations. The 3,9 m version has been manufactured in Argentina since 2016 and has seen significant sales, mainly in Eastern Europe and throughout South America. It has three chassis sizes: 12 m with 26 rows, 15 m with 32 rows, and 18 m with 38 rows, always with a standard spacing of 50 cm between rows. This machine can be sold without fertilizer application in the row, according to the system adopted by the farmer.

The machines, which reduce their width to 3,2 m when folded for transport, are available in configurations of 12 m and 24 rows and 15 m and 30 rows, and can reach up to 32 rows, with multiples of 90 m, a spacing used in cotton in some regions. A row spacing of 50 cm is standard.

To meet the after-sales needs of its entire product line, Crucianelli has established a network of dealerships for sales and customer service, with the majority being part of the Precision Planting dealer network, thus fully covering a large part of the country. To give greater attention to component replacement, the company opted for a system that is quite innovative compared to most Brazilian manufacturers. They deliver the main machine parts on consignment to the dealership, or directly to the customer when their area is far from the nearest dealership.

User training is being provided by the brand directly through dealerships, but the activity of courses and training is being intensified as the products are marketed in the country.

In Argentina, this machine was awarded the CiTA Prize (Premio a la Innovación en la Tecnologia Agropecuária) in the seeding category for its seed dosing and supply system in 2019. This award is one of the most important in the sector.

Machine structure

The machine has a structure consisting of a central chassis with six rows and another 18 rows distributed on the side wings, nine on each. The tractor hitch consists of a first pantographic section connected to the tractor's drawbar, with a jack for adjusting the hitch height and a safety chain, which articulates to keep the machine level and independent. The second section is a triangle of longitudinal beams forming a robust structure attached to this central chassis.

The machine can be powered entirely by the tractor's hydraulic system via remote control valves (RCVs). However, if the tractor lacks the necessary capacity or number of outlets, a separate hydraulic unit, powered by the tractor's power take-off (PTO), can be used. This unit, consisting of a pump and an auxiliary tank, drives the turbine, manufactured in Argentina, with positive airflow. The separate hydraulic unit is useful for relieving the tractor, even if it has sufficient flow. Most of the Plantor's components are manufactured in Brazil; however, the turbine, driven by a hydraulic motor, generates an airflow. At the outlet, a pipe coming from the turbine splits into three outlets, one for each tank. The remaining controls are on the RCVs, along with the hydraulic hose assembly for operating the machine.

The polyethylene tanks, manufactured using a rotomolding process, are arranged in the central structure so that the main seed tank is at the front and the two fertilizer tanks are at the back. Both the seed and fertilizer tanks have a capacity of 2.400 liters each, with a deflector at the bottom to relieve weight on the product outlet and a stainless steel screen at the top to prevent the entry of seed and fertilizer clumps that form with moisture. The lid can be fully opened with a suspension system to protect the hinges. The closure uses a quick-release latch. Therefore, each tank has a capacity for two bags, thus fitting four bags in the fertilizer tanks and two bags in the front seed tank. A tarp has been placed to cover the tanks when the machine is in storage.

One of the features of the Plantor that we observed in the test is its versatility, because in this original configuration we described, the hoppers can all be used for seed or even the two rear hoppers, originally for fertilizers, can be used for seeds, and the front hopper for some other type of seed, allowing for intercropping. The change is relatively easy and is planned in the machine's operating design.

The entire central structure of the machine is supported by two pairs of large support wheels, with high-load-bearing-capacity tires and a large contact area, and the wings are supported at the ends by wheels that rotate and follow the movement. When the machine folds for transport, the wheels at the ends of the wings are moved forward, making the towed machine fully supported by the wheels, transferring weight to the hitch. Access to the storage compartments is via a ladder at the rear of the machine, protected by a handrail.

Upon starting to climb onto the machine, one of the Plantor's unique features becomes apparent. Access for maintenance is very easy, as the machine has no fairing, making everything easy to find and perform maintenance. This is one of the contributions of Argentinian engineering, which prioritizes simplicity for maintenance.

Another interesting detail is that the hydraulic hoses run inside the booms, and the electrical and electronic harnesses are encased in cable trays for protection. The connection between the hoses in the fixed parts of the machine is made with sections of hydraulic tubing, which facilitates heat dissipation. The positive pressure air that moves the products, seeds and fertilizer, runs inside the wing tube, which is sealed.

Due to a manufacturer's decision, whenever the machine is equipped with vDrive, there will be an alternator, which ensures the stability of the electrical current for operating the system. Another important design decision is that, when dealing with working widths greater than 15 m, there will be hydraulic cylinders generating load for the wings, in order to always maintain the working depth.

Furrowing and furrow closing

The pantographic straw cutting and furrow opening system for fertilizer placement is independent and does not depend on the seed placement system. It is located at the front, attached directly to the bar that is the side wing itself, and has a variety of position adjustments. The furrow opener used can be a double disc or a shank type, like a boot. The straw cutting disc, which initiates the furrow opening, is independent of the fertilizer furrow opener and has a lateral movement.

Flow sensors were installed along the fertilizer line, displaying information about product interruption on a monitor located in the tractor cab.

Fertilizer and seed dosage

One of the main parts of a seed-planting machine consists of the seed storage, transport, and metering system, as well as the furrow opening and seed placement. The activities of closing and compacting the soil over the seeds are also important for germination and emergence.

The Plantor uses a pantographic mechanical system, independent of the system, that opens and places fertilizer. Dosing begins at the bottom of the seed hopper when a vertical air current lifts the seed mass, which is then conveyed through hoses to the metering device. Before the furrow opener, a pantographic track cleaning disc controls the furrow profile.

The seed metering system is one of the highlights of this machine we tested. It uses the vDrive system for electric drive and the vSet system for precise seed metering, both products from Precision Planting, a Crucianelli partner in this equipment line. This system allows for row cutting in areas where seeds have already been placed and curve compensation to maintain the accuracy of the seed placement distance.

Also, to maintain seed placement quality, the DeltaForce system from Precision Planting was adopted. Its main function is to control downforce, which is the force that the planter trolley exerts on the soil, automatically controlling the standardization of the furrow profile. To do this, it uses a hydraulic cylinder with positive and negative pressure; that is, aided by information provided by a load cell, it corrects the depth row by row as well.

The load cells are placed one in each row, operating at a frequency of 200 Hz, making five corrections per second, so that, in a quick calculation, it can be deduced that when the machine is developing an operating speed of 8 km/h, piston correction occurs centimeter by centimeter.

Using the Precision Planting system, the 20-20 model monitor controls the entire seeding and fertilization process, while the operational part of the activity is controlled on another monitor that uses the Isobus standard, therefore fully compatible with tractors that adopt this protocol.

The basis of the entire design of this machine was to maintain a homogeneous and balanced furrow for fertilizer placement, which, as is known, favors germination and the initial impulse of plant emergence. Therefore, a depth adjustment system was also included, controlling the depth in centimeter increments and having an intermediate, mid-stroke position, allowing depth control every 1 cm and 1,5 cm.

Machine closure for transport

One test we conducted with this machine was on the wing folding and retraction system for transport. The innovations compared to what's currently available on the market are impressive. An exclusive Crucianelli system, patented by the brand, activates hydraulic pistons located between the wings and the central chassis, so that only the pantographic module for the cutting and fertilizer discs rises, while the seed module articulates separately, remaining on a lower plane to avoid excessively raising the center of gravity.

The machine then rests on its four central wheels, and the support wheels at the ends of the wings move forward to provide support. The sequence of the retraction operation for transport is very similar to the sequence of actions of a Transformer robot, well known to children.

Test location

Our test of the Crucianelli Plantor seeder took place in the municipality of Morro Agudo, in the state of São Paulo, on a production area belonging to Primos Agro, who welcomed us to provide this evaluation. We had the invaluable collaboration of engineer Maximiliano Cassalha, who has extensive experience in various agricultural machinery companies and currently leads this process of bringing Crucianelli to Brazil, and also of Juan Pablo Nunes Marques, a machine operator who helped us demonstrate the equipment's characteristics in a sugarcane renewal area that is now receiving a soybean crop on prepared land with little straw. However, Crucianelli has another machine working in the Brazilian Midwest, with conditions for soybean succession and rotation with corn, in no-till planting.

Optional

Although the Plantor has several optional accessories, in the model we tested they were standard. One item that is always optional is the reservoir and drive system for placing inoculant in the furrow, from Orion, which supplies all the components for Crucianelli to assemble on the machine. The product is supplied independently of the seeder, with an external pump.

This system is widely used by producers, mainly in the Midwest, especially in Mato Grosso and Goiás, and in the Southeast, such as in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais.

Final considerations

Our test consisted of monitoring the machine's operation in an area of ​​soil prepared with successive harrowings. The main factors we analyzed were related to the machine's ability to open the furrow and introduce fertilizer and seed, evaluating its components, the articulation of the rows, and the machine's opening and closing system for transport.

It is noteworthy that the machine's design paid special attention to the fertilizer and seed placement systems, assembling two separate and independent pantographic structures. Practicality and cutting power were sought, offering different furrow openers for fertilizer. The system adopted by Crucianelli for controlling furrow opening and maintaining its uniformity was entrusted to Precision Planting, with the line pressure control system, in its most complete and modern version. The DeltaForce uses a hydraulic cylinder that acts in both directions, downwards and upwards, unlike the systems that only press the line, found in most seeders in Brazil.

Regarding the seed and fertilizer metering system and plantability monitoring, the complete Precision Planting system was chosen again, with vSet for precise metering and vDrive for the electric drive of the metering mechanism. The 20-20 monitor is used to monitor the quality of the cabin operation.

Another highly praised feature was the machine's versatility, which has three hoppers that can be used in various ways for seeds and fertilizer, requiring little adaptation. In short, a rewarding experience where we were able to exclusively verify the features of one of this brand's models, which arrives in Brazil with years of experience and will help raise the level of precision seeding operations.

Jose Fernando Schlosser,
Agrotechnology Laboratory/Nema/UFSM