A new chapter in no-till farming and a good deal more

Avatar 3.16 – 8.16 SD

HORSCH Canada INC Products Seeding technology Disc seed drills | Avatar 3.16 – 8.16 SD

Avatar SD

A new chapter in no-till farming and a good deal more

Versatile

  • Can be used universally from direct drilling to cultivated soils
  • Metering of up to three individual components

Robust

  • High coulter pressure of up to 350 kg per individual row
  • Stable and maintenance-free bearings for maximum service life

Precise

  • Depth control at the individual coulter
  • Closing wheels can be adjusted in an optimum way for the most different site conditions

Avatar

A NEW CHAPTER IN NO-TILL FARMING

HORSCH have never lost sight of the products that for 30 years have been forming its reputation: the first Seed-Exactors left a permanent impression. If you go back to the beginning of the company, Michael Horsch at that time built a machine that was suitable for no-till farming.
The arguments at that time: disturb the soil as little as possible, encourage biodiversity and, of course, in the context of decreasing prices, save costs. Due to the opening of the eastern markets in the Nineties there suddenly was a large market for no-till farming equipment. However the pto-shaft driven technology could not be used for the large fields in the East.
With the experiences from the no-till sector Michael Horsch developed tine-based no-till technology for the eastern markets that is successfully sold there today. In the recent past, HORSCH thought about developing no-till technology based on disc coulters. It is not just suitable for the Latin American markets to disturb the soil as little as possible.
But also in other regions, too, the SingleDisc coulter technology is of great interest – especially in Europe with increasing requirements in the sector of catch crops sowing to the sowing of main crops in catch crops or in regions that are faced with resistant weeds. In parts of Great Britain, Germany and France the farmers depend on new sowing technologies with reduced soil movement – a clear task for the Avatar .
The disc coulter technology plays an important role in large parts of Russia, Kazakhstan and China.
Good reasons for HORSCH to design our own Avatar line.

The combination of the catching roller and a star closing wheel has established itself as an optimum solution for sowing in dry conditions.

The combination of uniformer and steel closing wheel is ideal for sowing in wet conditions.

SD (SINGLEDISC) COULTER

versatile, Robust, precise

The individual depth controlled SingleDisc coulter has especially been designed for the Avatar line. Due to its individuality and flexibility it can be adapted to the most different sowing conditions:

  • Direct seed
  • Mulch seed
  • Conventional tillage
  • In standing catch crops
  • Stony and very heavy, clayey soils


The interaction of SingleDisc coulter and seed firmer guarantees a safe opening of the furrow. At the same time harvest residues are removed from the furrow. The result is an optimum contact of seed and soil for quick and safe emergence.
Via the rubber buffer a coulter pressure of up to 350 kg per coulter can be transferred. The coulter pressure can be adjusted mechanically or electrically via the terminal. All pivot points and connections at the coulter are maintenance-free. The durable, maintenance-free bearings at all turning parts guarantee a long service life and operational reliability. The seed skid is equipped with a carbide wear edge for a long service life. It can even be extended with the HM+ version.
The stable depth control rolls guarantee an exact depth control of the coulter in changing or difficult conditions. This is due to different co-ordinated adjustments of the seed coulter and optional equipments.
Due to the lateral inclination of 6° and an under cut of 3° of the SingleDisc coulter the seed is placed below the surface in a slanting way. Depending on the conditions you can choose between Uniformer and catching roller:

Uniformer

  • Safe fixing of the seed in the furrow
  • Flexible use
  • Ideal when sowing into green catch crops

Catching roller in the row

  • Safe emergence even in dry conditions
  • High operational reliability even in very wet conditions due to the integrated parking position for the catching roller; the press wheel in this case is moved away from the working area

Depending on the soil conditions the angle of the closing wheel can be adjusted:

  • Aggressively for direct seed or on very heavy soils
  • Passively on cultivated or very light soils

You can choose between two versions:
Star wheel steel

  • For sowing in very dry conditions the star closing wheel is the optimum solution
  • The star wheel produces important fine earth for closing the seed furrow

Closing wheel steel

  • For sowing in wet, changing conditions the steel closing wheel is ideal.
  • Closes the seed furrow even in changing conditions
  • Ideal with the offset method
  • The down force of the closing wheels can be adjusted by means of a spring without any tools.

Finely graduated seed depth adjustment without tools

The down force of the closing wheels can be adjusted by means of a spring without any tools.

Star wheel steel – produces fine earth and closes the seed furrow

Star wheel steel – produces fine earth and closes the seed furrow

Uniformer Avatar

Press wheel in the seed furrow for optimum seed-soil contact of the grain

First row
e. g. coarse-grained seed, placed deeply, for example with fertiliser

Second row
small-grained seed, placed shallowly, for example including slug pellets

Avatar 3 / 4 / 6 / 8 SD

COMPACT AND VERSATILE

Machine concept

The objective of the 3.16 – 8.16 SD was to develop a compact seed drill with seed coulters the depth of which can be controlled individually. The 2-bar design with a row spacing of 16.7 cm and a clearance of 33.4 cm per row provide a high operational safety even in case of many harvest residues respectively intensive catch crop populations. The large chassis tyres guarantee a soil-saving work even with a full hopper, reduce tracks and the horsepower requirement. The light-weight basic machine for sowing after conventional tillage or mulch seed allows for mounting additional weights to guarantee a safe shaping of the furrow and embedding of the seed with the SingleDisc coulter even in most difficult sowing conditions.

Versatile hopper system

The double hopper is standard equipment. You have to differentiate between the different versions:

  • The 3.16 and 4.16 SD can be equipped with a triple tank – with a partition of 60 : 10 : 30 for maximum flexibility with up to 3 components.
  • A third hopper with standard metering device for seed or micro-granular compounds (with the corresponding fine metering insert) can be integrated in the second hopper of the Avatar 6.15 and 8.16 SD.

Half-width shut-off or selective hosing

The mechanical half-width control is standard equipment for all machines. As an option you can chose an electrical half-width control via the ISOBUS Terminal. With a SectionControl activation the whole system can be automated. As an alternative to the half-width control the machine can be equipped with a selective hosing. In this case, one seed row (respectively one distributor tower) can be switched off.
There are two options for use:
Sowing with double row spacing (33.4 cm)

  • Makes sense for example for rape


Due to the double (6.16 + 8.16 SD) or triple tank (3.16 + 4.16 SD) the seed rows can be filled with different seeds . Thus, it is guaranteed that every component is placed on the ideal seed horizon.

  • Independent seed depths are possible (large grains deeply, small grains shallowly)
  • Optimum for mixtures with different placement depths, without separating!

Optional: tyres 710 / 50 – 26.5 for maximum contact area

Optional WorkLight

Triple hopper 3 800 litre, partition 60 : 10 : 30

Optional additional weights to achieve a higher coulter pressure

Sowing with the Avatar (functions depend on the equipment Avatar 3 / 4 / 4 rigid / 6 / 8 SD)

Johannes von Keiser

“We have been using the Avatar 6 SD on our 750 hectare since 5 years and our experiences are only positive. The heavy soils with a short rotation wheat / barley / rape encourage the development of weeds and black grass. To fight the black grass problem, we carry out a shallow cultivation after the harvest to make the weeds emerge. Before sowing the fields they are treated with glyphosate. Then we use the Avatar with the large SingleDisc seed coulter. It moves only little soil while sowing and minimises further emergence of weed. We noticed that with reduced tillage we can drive earlier into the fields after rain and that biodiversity increases. Moreover, we attach great importance to efficiency to be able to sow at the correct time. With all these advantages the 6-metre Avatar pays off quickly.”

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

 

HORSCH Avatar 3.16 SD 4.16 SD rigid 4.16 SD 6.16 SD 8.16 SD
Working width (m) 3.00 4.00 4.00 6.00 8.00
Transport width (m) 2.99 4.32 2.99 2.98 2.98
Transport height (m) 3.50 3.50 3.50 3.31 3.98
Length lower linkage (m) 6.96 6.96 6.96 7.82 7.82
Length adjustable drawbar linkage (m) 7.80 7.80 7.80 8.66 8.66
Axle load (kg) 2 500 – 4 000* 3 200 – 4 300* 3 400 – 4 500* 4 300 – 6 200** 5 200 – 6 700**
Vertical load (kg) 1 500 – 2 300* 2 000 – 2 600* 2 100 – 2 800* 2 600 – 3 300** 3 200 – 4 000**
Seed hopper capacity double hopper (l) 3 800 3 800 3 800 5 000 5 000
Feed opening double hopper (m) per 0.66 x 0.90 per 0.66 x 0.90 per 0.66 x 0.90 per 0.66 x 0.90 per 0.66 x 0.90
Filling height double hopper (m) 3.24 3.24 3.24 3.26 3.26
Feed opening triple hopper (m) 0.66 x 0.43 / 0.66 x 0.25 / 0.66 x 1.45 --- ---
Seed hopper capacity triple hopper (l) 3 800 (30 : 10 : 60) 3 800 (30 : 10 : 60) 3 800 (30 : 10 : 60) --- ---
Filling height triple hopper (m) 2.95 2.95 2.95 --- ---
Hopper capacity micro-granular compound double hopper (l) --- --- --- 270 270
Number of seed coulters 18 24 24 36 48
Coulter pressure seed coulters (kg)*** 350 350 350 350 350
Seed coulter Ø (cm) 48 48 48 48 48
Closing wheels Ø (cm) 33 33 33 33 33
Depth control wheels Ø (cm) 40 40 40 40 40
Row spacing (cm) 16.70 16.70 16.70 16.70 16.70
Tyre size seed unit / waggon 600 / 55 – 26.5 600 / 55 – 26.5 600 / 55 – 26.5 600 / 55 – 26.5 600 / 55 – 26.5
Working speed (km/h) 6 – 15 6 – 15 6 – 15 6 – 15 6 – 15
Power demand (kW/hp) from 90 / 125 105 / 140 105 / 140 155 / 210 200 / 270
DA control devices 1 (+ 1 incl. hydr. fan direct drive) 3 3
Depressurized return flow (max. 5 bar) 1 1 1 1 1
Oil quantity hydr. fan (l/min) 35 – 45 35 – 45 35 – 45 35 – 45 35 – 45
Lower link linkage Cat. III and III / IV Cat. III and III / IV Cat. III and III / IV Cat. III and III / IV Cat. III and III / IV
Adj. drawbar linkage Hitch Ø 46 – 58 mm Hitch Ø 46 – 58 mm Hitch Ø 46 – 58 mm Hitch Ø 46 – 58 mm Hitch Ø 46 – 58 mm
Ball-type linkage K 80 K 80 K 80 K 80 K 80


* Weights of the machines with minimum equipment
** Length of the machine with lower link linkage without filling auger
*** Maximum coulter pressure depends on the equipment

Additional Features