Plot seeder - a state of the art technology for seeding

Field experiments hav a long history, from 1814 to 1932, the Swedish Academy of Forestry and Agriculture and later the Swedish state ran experiments at the Experimental Field at what is now Stockholm University. But as the city grew, the experiments were moved to the then new Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in 1932, which since 1977 has been known as the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU).

As far as technology in field trials is concerned, developments have made great strides. Today, special trial threshers are used, known as plot combine harvesters. These are not only distinguished by their size, but also have a threshing mechanism that prioritizes grain quality and minimum waste in relation to efficiency.

The self-propelled machine

Behind Vreta Kloster church is Klostergården, where we met up with experimental technician Tobias Heintze from Hushållningssällskapet, who explained how the plot seeder works.

- “It's a special machine, at the moment there are only two of this type in Sweden,” he notes.

The plot seeder is used during the sowing period of the field trials and with GPS control can lay out straight lines to follow in the field.

- “This machine doesn't need to be mounted on a tractor, which is actually the most common. We wanted it so that you can load the machine on a trailer, drive out eight miles and so on, and then go home again. In addition, the machine is a little lighter, so we don't cause packing at the farmer's farm,” says Tobias Heintze.

From small bags, into hoppers and into the soil

When you sow plots, you have bags that are packed in portions with different varieties, fertilizer, etc. The person sitting in the back takes care of these and puts them into the different hoppers. The seed falls out through them into a cell wheel, which acts as an output section. In this way, the seed is fed out on an even surface that you set yourself, usually an area of 12 or 24 meters. The seed then moves out through the coulters, using only gravitational force, and is placed in the soil.

- What is special about this is that you can apply fertilizer at the same time as sowing, something that is not very common on experimental machines.

You can also choose to either apply the same rate and fertilizer throughout the experiment, or apply a special fertilizer for a specific plot and for the next plot switch to some other fertilizer, amount or similar.

Learn more about the activities of the Hushållningssällskapet here: Hushållningssällskapet.se