Test Drive LS Planter Seeder

We tested the LS Planter E 12045 Seeder, launched by LS Tractor less than a month ago, which arrives on the market with great innovations and an exclusive seeding system that replaces chains and sprockets with a flexible shaft

In general, the equipment we test most in Revista Cultivar Máquinas are tractors, harvesters and self-propelled sprayers. However, when we have the opportunity to test another type of machine, we always hope that they are models that can bring something new to our readers. In this sense, the LS Planter seeder is innovative, full of details and has brought us many curiosities since the beginning of the contacts we made with the manufacturer.

In fact, the LS Planter is the result of an agreement between LS Tractor and the Rio Grande do Sul equipment manufacturer EixoPlant, from the city of Passo Fundo (RS), which will manufacture the machine under the LS Planter model. To learn more about the launch of the LS Tractor, we went to the Coopavel Rural Show, in the city of Cascavel, Paraná. This is the first of the major Brazilian agricultural fairs of the year and usually brings news, such as the launch of new products by companies.

LS Tractor is a South Korean company that has established itself in the Brazilian market as a tractor manufacturer. It has its manufacturing unit in Garuva, in the state of Santa Catarina. As part of its strategy to expand its product portfolio and offer solutions in different mechanization sectors, LS chose to enter the precision seeders market and meet customers who are looking for new alternatives, with technological innovations. With this concept, the company EixoPlant presented a new project with the capacity to meet this demand from LS Tractor. Under this agreement, EixoPlant will be responsible for manufacturing, replacing parts and training LS Tractor technicians who, in turn, will be responsible for all support and after-sales service in the brand's dealer network throughout Brazil.

In this way, LS will offer a range of seeding machines from five to 16 rows that exactly covers its entire tractor power range. From what we can tell from a visual analysis and the testing we did in the field, it is a very innovative machine, with several interesting items that we will analyze for our readers.

MAIN FEATURES

The machine's hitch to the tractor is of the trailed type, that is, coupled only to the tractor's traction bar. There are no models that connect to the three points of the tractor's hydraulic system. This type of hitch, in general, is used mainly on direct seeding machines, which require the entire weight of the machine on the furrowing organs, with the tractor being used only to pull the machine and provide hydraulic power, in this case electrical, which we will explain later. , to activate the active organs of the machine. The hitch has several adjustments to fix the height and horizontality of the boom, both in connection with the tractor and in connection with the machine chassis. As is usual in this type of machine, there is a support jack and bar height adjustment, to support the weight and assist in coupling to the tractor. This was not the case in the test and may not even be used on LS tractors, but the manufacturer offers a tandem hitch for large tractors, where two seeders can be linked together by the machine header, doubling the number of rows.

STRUCTURE AND LINES

The machine's chassis that supports the other components is quite robust, with large transversal and longitudinal bars, which means that the machine reaches its largest model with a total weight of 9.000kg.

As we mentioned before, the machines, depending on the model, can have from five to 16 sowing lines and the spacing between them can vary from 30cm to 45cm, simply by lateral displacement of the lines on the crossbar that supports it. In this sense, we saw that the designer, to facilitate the adjustment of the spacing between lines and reduce the effort of the operators, provided robust clamps, with guides to aid the work.

In general, one of the most targeted points when evaluating seeding machines, especially those aimed at the process known as direct planting, is the fertilization and seeding line.

In this machine, the set of components in the furrowing and fertilizer positioning line is formed by a straw cutting disc, a fixed machete-type furrower and its supports and adjustment devices. The manufacturer placed a vertical spring to vary the pressure of the knife and another horizontal one to regulate the cutting pressure of the disc. This brings a great advantage, which is the independence between the pressure regulation of the knife and the disc, which can be used in cases where there is a variation in the amount of straw, for example.

A pantographic system was designed for the furrowing and seed deposition line, with a seed furrower using a double offset disc, with lateral limiters next to the center of the axis, which can be metallic or coated with rubber. The pantograph system is equipped with a spring and shock absorber, to apply pressure, adapt to the undulations of the terrain and prevent the system from floating. Adjusting the sowing depth depends on several factors, but is primarily done using the limiter, placed on both sides of the furrowing disc.

To lightly compact the soil and remove air from the area close to the seed, compacting wheels were placed at an angle directed towards the center of the furrow. There are enough pressure and wheel angle adjustments for various combinations of this device.

INNOVATIONS

Among the most important components of a precision seeder are the fertilizer and seed dosers. These devices primarily determine the precision of a machine in the longitudinal distribution of fertilizers and seeds in the furrow, which are factors determining the quality of this type of machine.

This machine uses an innovative and very interesting fertilizer dosing system, which is Pulse Zero. It is a single component, shielded and composed of a corrosion-proof material, with small fertilizer deposits, placed in a helical shape, which always have part of it in contact with the fertilizer and its outlet. It can handle dose variations from 16kg/ha to 900kg/ha, presenting several points of innovation in relation to conventional dosers and even in relation to others with higher technology. This device is a unique item on the market, which was designed in the development of this new machine.

Three forms of drive were available for dosing the seeds: mechanical (M), electrical (E) and hydraulic (H), which provide movement to the honeycombed disc-type doser, placed in a horizontal position. The first letter of the drive type accompanies the machine model name. Therefore, the E12045 is an electrically driven seeder, with 12 rows and 45cm spacing between rows.

The doser drive system is made up of a flexible cable, an innovative device, perhaps the machine's biggest novelty, which eliminates the technical system made up of chains and sprockets traditionally used in most machines offered on the Brazilian market. It is a system patented by the manufacturer and has the advantages of preventing tooth skipping and wear on discs and chains, as well as the system's flexibility and durability. The dosing disc drive system is installed on the base of the pantograph system. This system should truly innovate the design of new seeders in the country and abroad, as it is a flexible cable, it can activate the seed dosing device, using three basic characteristics, which are providing rotation, being flexible and maintaining elasticity. for a long period of time. All this, maintaining greater uniformity in the rotation of the driven dosing mechanism, regardless of possible vertical oscillations of the furrow opening mechanisms and, therefore, contributing to greater precision in seed distribution.

The manufacturer also discloses the geometric expression next to the machine model, referring to the possibility of placing the seeds in different positions when evaluating one line in relation to another. This, according to the manufacturer, is possible due to the 90-degree different position of the dosing mechanism drive position. Each of the dosers, alternately, uses different positions of the disc drive, enabling deposition in a different arrangement on each line. People in rustic agriculture who work with the positioning of perennial crops, such as eucalyptus, know this system as quincunx planting, which is an arrangement of seven plants, with one in the central position. This is the system that best distributes living space between surface plants.

The final seed deposit, placed on the dosing disc, is a honeycombed disc placed in a horizontal position and is of the popcorn maker type.

We noticed that the manufacturer did not skimp on adjustments. There are several points that combine with each other to make it possible to vary the depth, seed and fertilizer deposition and the way in which the soil is compacted over the seed. Some adjustments are rotary, with thread pitch and others are plug-in.

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