news on our spading machines

Among the equipment for working the soil, spading machine is an attractive option in some specialized areas of work, such as horticulture.

The primary tillage of the land provides the dirompimento of land previously cultivated with the mixing (or complete reversal) of the surface layer, while burying crop residues, solid manures and any mineral or organic fertilization previously distributed. Tool of choice for the execution of this operation is always the plow; moreover, the need to reduce the economic and environmental impact of the processes has in recent years led to the spread of alternative techniques, such as eg. minimum tillage, or solutions that foresee the use of substitutes direct plow. In the latter area, the digging machine has had a decent spread, at least in some contexts agricultural Italians, including in particular that of horticultural crops.

It is an equipment typically range attack to 3 points and operated by the lifter, driven via the PTO of the tractor. To maintain a constant working depth can be laid on the ground on skids or steel wheels. It consists of a sturdy frame, which supports some working parts of trapezoidal shape, called spades, placed on the end of rods. The whole is placed in a geometry wishbones, which is driven by a gearbox control unit via a top rotor, and allows an appropriate trajectory of the spade, which penetrates into the soil by "cutting" a slice vertically, tearing on the bottom and throwing it in the opposite direction to progress against specific housing or grids, to crush the loose soil and thus create a Clod reduced.

Combined with the main gearbox, in the new models this is often a manual transmission, with usually 2 or 3 gears, the variation which can be done via an external selector switch, or by directly opening the box and replacing a couple of gears. The ability to select different speeds of spades optimizes the coupling tractor / spading machine according to the needs in terms of working ability and refinement of the terrain. In fact, at constant feed rate by increasing the rotation speed is obtained a greater degree of refinement, because at each sinking the vanghegge cut a slice of soil closer. Similarly, an equal amount of shredding, increasing the speed of rotation is possible to increase the feed rate, and thus the productivity. The latter factor, however, remains one of the critical nature of the diggers: the feed rate is in fact typically quite low, less than 3 km / h. Also, it is to consider the large number of joints, which in the old models had to be greased on a daily basis; are commonly used today instead bearings and self-lubricating bushings.

 The advantages of the spading machine

Although a disadvantage compared to other machines for working the soil due to reduced feed rate, the action of the spading machine is characterized by undoubted agronomic qualities. The most obvious (and useful) is the absence of working soil, typical instead of plowing. It is a more or less thick layer of soil consistent, very compacted, which reduces the penetration of the radical and hinders the capillary rise of the circulating solution in the soil. Especially in horticulture, where they perform different machining annual, the absence of hard pan is a remarkable advantage. Compared with traditional plowing, the soil is dug more refined and with a more homogeneous profile: in favorable situations may be suitable for planting, without further intervention. Also, digging the remixes more than plowing the soil, which improves the burying of manure or slurry, distributing them evenly in the tilled layer. Moreover, the burying of crop residues and weed seeds is less effective, increasing the likelihood of proliferation of weeds. The low working speed also increases operator comfort, reducing the vibrations on the machine, with the exception of those produced in the forward direction, significant especially if the tractor is lightweight.