CULTURE  >> AIRFLOW SPREADER

    The following photographs show an airflow fertilizer spreader being used to spread prairie seed.  In this job the seed was blended at a fertilizer plant with pelleted limestone and delivered to the field with a tender truck.  This limestone is one of the cheaper materials that can be used to blend with and carry the seed through the machine.  The rates of pelleted limestone used per acre depend partly on the size of the parcel of land to be spread.  In this job we were seeding parcels of 2 to 7 acres each.  We decided to use 300 pounds of pelleted limestone per acre.  The operator set the machine to apply 150 pounds per acre on the first pass and then, judging by the amount of material remaining, dialed in another application rate for the second pass.  On small acreages this insures that you get over all the land at least once without running out of material.  On much larger acreages, you can probably get by with spreading 200 pounds per acre of pelleted limestone and making only one pass.  

    Notice the photograph showing us adding seed and carrier to the airflow spreader.  There is a screen on top of the hopper that the seed and carrier must be able to pass through.  It is important that the seed is clean enough to pass through this screen.  Very trashy grass seed with many stems or leaves would create problems at this step of the operation.  

    We planted a field that had been in soybeans the previous year.  Before spreading, one pass was made with a Brillion Cultimulcher with the tines lowered enough to bring some loose soil to the surface while leaving some surface residue.  After spreading, a final pass was made with the Cultimulcher with the tines raised.  The rollers pressed the seed into the soil.  

    This process resulted in excellent and very even stands.

    These photographs are thumbnails.  Click on each image to enlarge the picture.   Afer viewing each picture use your "back" button on your browser to return to this page.

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Incorporating Seed

CONTACT:  Lou Nelms 217-482-3524, cell 217-737-6783  

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