Grass Seeders

OPICO's Grass Seeders

OPICO Air Seeders are easily mounted onto Grass Harrows or any other implement. Seed is broadcast consistently and evenly, giving complete coverage of the area sown.

The grass seeder seed rate can be varied from 1 to 80kg* per hectare, according to the type of seed being sown and whether reseeding or overseeding. Where oversowing only specific areas of a field, Electronic seeders can also be switched on or off during the harrowing operation.

Sowing should always be followed with rolling to ensure good seed-to-soil contact is achieved.

Perfect Partners
Rejuvenate Exsiting Leys
Reseeding New Leys
Best Practice

Perfect Partners

The OPICO Grass Harrows and seeders can be used together for new reseeds or for overseeding old or patchy leys.

Rejuvenate Existing Leys

The productivity of old or patchy leys can be rejuvenated and the life of the ley extended, simply by overseeding. This is especially useful where poor drainage or flooding has killed off grass in certain areas of a field, or where livestock have poached ground near gateways and troughs. In addition, the field does not have to come out of use.

With few effective clover-safe herbicides around, many farmers have adopted the approach of ridding the leys of perennial weeds like docks and thistles first, and only stitching-in clover once a clean grass ley has been established. Using the OPICO grass harrow, bare ground is exposed onto which the broadcast clover seed can land and establish.

Reseeding new leys

Typically a first year reseed is expected to give 25% more yield than an old ley, although improvements of 40% have been known. Furthermore the modern grass varieties in seed mixtures have been bred to utilise nitrogen better, and have higher yields and digestibility than older grasses.

In soil conditions where it is difficult to establish new leys, aggressively cultivating the surface and heavily overseeding with a OPICO Seeder in consecutive seasons can give a reliable alternative.

After the usual ground cultivations, always roll the field at least once to obtain a good firm seedbed before harrowing and seeding and then roll again after to ensure good soil to seed contact.

Best practice

For leys to reach their full potential for yield and quality, an integrated approach to grassland management is essential.

As well as harrowing, this includes: maintaining good drainage, avoiding soil compaction, reseeding with grass and clover mixtures appropriate to livestock and purpose, timely weed and pest control and tailoring fertiliser applications to compensate for soil nutrient shortfalls.

Grass is a very valuable crop and treating it as such can dramatically reduce seed costs.

Precise seed metering

Unlike most other types of seeders, the OPICO Air 8 and Air 16 grassland seeder uses individual metering wheels for each seed outlet enabling extremely accurate seed metering and guaranteeing the same amount of seed is fed to each outlet.

This is crucially important when using low seed rates and small seeds.

Four types of metering rollers are available Two of these quickly interchangeable seed rollers are supplied as standard, the third or fourth can be purchased as an extra.

Accurate seed-rate control

The amount of seed applied is controlled by the speed of the metering roller and is adjusted until the desired seed rate is achieved. The Air 8 mechanical drive seeder has a clever step-less gearbox to ensure reliability in work and seed rate

The Air 8 and Air 16 Electronic machines have a speed sensing motor that is constantly checked and adjusted by the computer control box to give you a constant seed rate at all times.

Mechanical versions	Electronic versions	Calibration	Drive mechanism
A step-less gearbox and lever are used to adjust the seed rate.	The control box in the cab allows setting and adjustment on the move, and records the area that has been traveled and how much seed was put on that area.	On all machines this is performed by removing the metering roller cover and using the calibration tray.	Toothed, non slip drive belts are used to transmit power to the seed roller and agitator. Agitator disengagement for delicate seeds is done by simply reversing the agitator drive pulley.

Forward speed related metering

All OPICO Seeders have a heavy duty spoked land wheel drive that follows the contours of the ground to give constant forward speed related seed metering. It doesn’t matter if you slow down or increase your speed you will always get the correct seed rate.

Electronic versions use a pulse sensor to feed information back to the control box. Standard mechanical drive machines use a grease able 12mm steel flexible drive cable connected straight to the metering gearbox.

A radar is available as option if required.

Pneumatic seed delivery

A hydraulic fan or two 12v electric fans provide the airflow to deliver the seed down the pipe to the correct position on the machine.

Electric fans (Right image) have a full wiring looms and switch unit in the cab. There is an optional air flow alarm to warn the operator in case of blockage or malfunction.

Hydraulic drive units (Left image) include a fan speed sensor and alarm to warn the operator if the fan is not turned on when seeding or if there is a malfunction.

Air 8 - Mechanical Drive Seeder

Whether you are over-seeding or re-seeding pastures OPICO have a seeder to suit the job. The AIR 8 seeder is designed to fit directly onto an OPICO Grass Harrow.

The seeder accurately meters and distributes the seed evenly across the width of the machine whilst the Grass Harrow opens up the soil and creates a tilth and then covers in the seed resulting in the ideal environment for seed germination.

Landwheel Drive - ground speed related rate control
Gearbox - precise seed rate metering
Twin Electric Fans - easy fitting and control
1 metering segment/outlet - precise seed distribution
Powder coated and anodised - built to last.

Air 8E - Electronic Drive Seeder

The Air 8 (E) Electronic uses the electronic control as standard with a motor to drive the metering mechanism and twin electric fans to distribute the seed through its 8 outlets on machines up to 6.5m wide.

Landwheel speed sensing - ground speed related metering
Electric Drive - precise seed rate metering
8 Outlets - accurate distribution up to 6.5m working width
In cab Control box - allows on the move seed rate                 adjustment, simple calibration and diagnostic sensing.
1 metering segment/outlet - precise seed distribution
Twin Electric Fans - easy fitting and control
Powder coated and anodised - built to last.

Air 16E - Electronic Seeder

The High capacity Air 16 incorporates the electronic control as standard using a motor to drive the metering mechanism and a hydraulic fan to distribute the seed through its 16 outlets on machines up to 12.5m wide.

The Air 16 suits applications where wider working widths, faster working speeds and/or higher seed rates are required.

The larger hopper, hydraulic fan and larger metering mechanism are designed to deal with high output applications.

Landwheel speed sensing - ground speed related metering
16 Outlets - accurate distribution up to 12.5m working width
In cab Control box - allows on the move seed rate                 adjustment, simple calibration and diagnostic sensing.
1 metering segment/outlet - precise seed distribution
Hydraulic Fan - handles high seed rates without blockage.
Powder coated and anodised - built to last.

Grass Seeder - Air 8

Grass Seeder - Air 8 Electronic

Grass Seeder - Air 16 Electronic

Grassright - Making grass profitable

Grass is universally acknowledged to be the cheapest source of energy for ruminant livestock. Its use as forage – whether grazed or ensiled - contributes directly to the profitability of the livestock enterprise.

It therefore follows, that any steps taken to further improve the productivity of grassland, through efficient and effective management and use of inputs, will also further improve farm profitability.

Yet the profitability of a piece of grassland is determined not by one management factor but by many. These include: grazing system, ground cultivation, re-seeding frequency, choice of seed mixture and its suitability for the intended purpose, appropriate choice and timely application of fertilisers and herbicides for best results at least cost, cutting dates (silage), clamp management and appropriate use of silage additives. Nor should any one of these factors be considered in isolation, they are all inter-related.

So how can farmers follow ‘best practice’ and ensure that grassland is managed ‘right’ for profit? The answer is an initiative called ‘grassright’ in which free information and advice is made available to farmers to help ensure the full profit potential of their grass is realised.

Visit www.grassright.co.uk and find out more.

This initiative is supported by a group of four companies, each with specific knowledge and expertise in certain areas of grassland management. They are: Advanta Seeds, Dow AgroSciences, Kemira GrowHow and OPICO.

The grassright group is also working with farmers, through practical on-farm trials, to assess the financial returns from adopting an integrated approach to grassland management.

An integrated approach to grassland management

Improving grassland productivity is not just a case of reseeding or controlling weeds. An integrated approach is needed. The Grassright Group has produced a booklet on Best Practice Grassland Management which encompasses all the aspects of establishing and maintaining good grassland. Downloaded the Grassright booklet, or to receive a printed copy email info@grassright.co.uk.