General – Monosem

Fertisystem Auto-Lub® augers for precision fertiliser distribution

Hane — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 07:14:34 +0000

Fertisystem Auto-Lub® augers for precision fertiliser distribution

The Fertisystem Auto-Lub® augers are made from highly durable corrosion free components. The stainless steel Fertisystem® auger shaft runs on two 6006.2RS ball bearings that are extremely well protected. The protection consists of a stainless steel washer, felt seal, exit hole, o-ring, oil seal and bearing seal. This design ensures many years of supreme performance without much maintenance.The Fertisystem Auto-Lub® augers are superbly performing fertiliser augers of a new generation. These augers are maintenance free and require minimum cleaning. Their open, spiral-like screw is very accurate and works very well even with damp or powdery fertilise

Key Features:

Reliable Flow rate:

Easy maintenance

Cream colour rain cap (1) can be taken off completely. Without cap (1), the tractor operator can easily monitor the fertiliser distribution. Even with cap, fertiliser will overflow through opening (a) in case of blockage in the opener. Service and cleaning is made easy as the front spout (2) clips off and the auger screw (3) can be pulled out by hand.

5 Reasons why the Monosem seed metering unit stands out far above the rest

Hane — Thu, 21 Sep 2017 13:10:51 +0000

5 Reasons why the Monosem seed metering unit stands out far above the rest

Less doubles and skips – The flat seed disc of the Monosem seed metering unit is less sensitive to seed size and shape. It picks up multiple seeds and the access pips get knocked of higher up in the metering unit. Conventional seed meters try to ensure single seed pickup with pockets or grooves on the seed disc. This is only effective when the seeds are uniform in size and shape.
Better seed spacing – The flat seed disc allows seeds to fall straight down from the seed disc at the 5 hour mark. The lower drop position decreases the likelihood of mispositioned seed in the seed furrow. The seed wiper at the bottom of the Monosem seed metering unit ensures that seeds fall down the centre of the seed tube. This accuracy ensures the correct positioning of each pip in the planted row.
Adjustable – The seed singulator is adjustable to fit different seed types (maize, soja, sunflower etc.). You can check for doubles or skips through the control window. You don’t have to make constant adjustments to get the perfect seed spacing. The Monosem system is not sensitive and you don’t have to adjust the vacuum.
Durable – The Monosem seed metering unit is made of aluminium. The agitator, singulator and seed wiper are made of bronze. The components are machined to the micron and calibrated at the factory for life.
Affordable replacement parts – It takes years to have to replace the wear gasket or seed disc. The seed disc is made of 1.5mm stainless steel. The wear gasket of Polyacetal Copolymer has superior friction and wear resistance characteristics.

Seed Metering Unit

(1) Cover (outside) Cast aluminium (2) Control Window, Operator can easily see the result of his adjustments (3) Clean Out Trap Door (4) Brass Seed Wiper directs seed release to guarantee precise seed spacing (5) Adjustable Brass Singulator Eliminates doubles without creating skips (6) Seed Disc 1.5mm stainless steel (7) Brass Agitator (8) Seed Drop Point Right above seed tube (9) Wear Gasket Teflon gasket behind seed disc will last for many years (10) Hold Down Plate (11) Meter Main Body

Adjusting the Seed Singulation :

The lever on the left side of the meter’s main body adjusts the Singulator on the inside.

The more the lever is set towards PLUS the less aggressive the Singulator. The more the lever is set towards MINUS the more aggressive the Singulator.

View Maize Planters

View Vegetable Planters

Monsanto invests R11 million Rand in new seed maize planter technology

Dawie Cilliers — Sun, 08 Nov 2015 03:20:38 +0000

Monsanto, one of the leading seed maize producers worldwide, have acquired two of the most technologically advanced precision maize planters which are quite unique to South Africa, to plant their seed maize more efficiently, accurately and cost effectively.
The investment of 11 million consists of two Monosem 17-row and two 3-row vacuum planters as well as two Case NX290 tractors.

With this new technology, the male and female seed can be planted with the same planter at the same time. These planters plant every pip without any skips or doubles.

Previously two different planters had to be used to plant rows of female and male seed which is needed for cross pollinisation. The female seeds were planted first followed by another planter which planted the male seed in spaces which were left open.

“With this new technology, which is a first of its kind in seed production, we mounted 17 single row units on one toolbar which can all be individually controlled and monitored from within the cab of the tractor. Male seed can now be planted at the same time in between the female rows without needing to leave gaps. This now gives a female coverage of 100% where we could traditionally only get an 83% female coverage. This method is a lot more cost effective to produce higher volumes of seed in less time and to gain higher yields to satisfy the continuous local and international demand of our seed” says Lukie van der Merwe –Field Equipment Manager for Monsanto.

Hydraulic seed drive to vary seed population

These planters have no chains or belts to drive the different operations. All drives are run by hydraulic motors which is controlled from a screen in the tractor. The seed population can be adjusted during operation ranging from 15000 to 115000 plants per ha. The row-spacing of the female plants are set at 76cm and so far an average of 40 ha of planting per day has been achieved. On a good day up to 70 or 80 ha can be planted.

Monosem 3-row mounted planter for planting extra male seed

To create more pollen, the two 3-row planters are used to plant extra male seed about 5 days after the initial planting.
All the tractor drivers have been well trained by Monsanto to interpret the highly advanced precision monitor that control the application of seed, fertiliser and pesticide and also monitors the seed population from the cab.

Using a GPS co-ordinate system the tractors keep all the rows in a straight line. Before planting the centre of the field the GPS system sets the outside boundary of the field and then planter units are programmed to stop one by one at this boundary, not to waste any seed.