What the system means to farmers

South African crop farmers can secure remendous benefits with the use of modern precision seed-spacing drills.

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J. ‘Buck’ Burke of Stellenbosch, managing director of a rapidly growing farm machinery enterprise, introduced precision seed spacing drills to South Africa only about two years ago, but in the US and Europe, the concept has made tremendous strides. To obtain the best yield and quality with horticultural crops, says Burke, a full plant population accurately spaced is of primary importance. The benefits include uniform size roots and consistent height of plants to facilitate mechanical harvesting.

“Precision drilling has already been established in the UK as the best method to cut down seed rates and labour requirements. The seeds must not only be spaced accurately, but must be drilled at an even depth into a soil environment specifically prepared to achieve the best possible germination and plant emergence.”

Row width, combined with inter-row spacing, is an important factor, and the increasing use of chemical weed control and applications of granular insecticides at the time of drilling makes it possible