New world of precision crop management

It concerns precision liquid and granular in-furrow or near-furrow management and involves a plethora of tank mixes of fungicides, insecticides, fertilisers and trace elements.

The idea is a one pass cocktail to cover most contingencies with growing a crop, but early adoptees have been plagued with problems associated with tank mix compatibilities, and blocked delivery lines.

Enter Furrow Management Systems Australia (FMSA), with its custom-designed service to set up a liquid system and then overcome the problems of blocked lines.

The company's answer is two-fold - a new Furrow Injection Module (FIM) linked to a Friction Flow delivery system.

It has been successfully used by a growing number of farmers for the past year, with the company making a few tweaks with the new module.

The heart of the system is an Italian-made high flow, high pressure ARAG centrifugal pump delivering up to 600 litres a minute at 11 Bar (154psi). Agitation also can be adjusted to suit various mixes.

The ARAG MSP400 pump boasts a large capacity five-stage closed impeller; a hydraulically-controlled valve for filling and flushing; an integrated 600 litres a minute filtered-fill capacity for main tank; a simple two tap layout for all functions; multiple fail-safes inbuilt into the hydraulic and liquid circuits to prevent damage from improper operation and high volume, low pressure agitation to avoid cavitation (air bubbles).

This maintains an even suspension of products in your tank mix, with agitation designed to match the tank shape to eliminate dead spots.

The new FIM-M module is designed to fit any liquid cart using Pinlock fittings with Viton seals to avoid thread or clamp leaks.

It is pre-plumbed for optional induction hoppers and venturi upgrades and is built from ARAG componentry using high grade plastics and tubing to ensure long life and reliability.

According to FMSA, it will stand up to any chemical or fertiliser use and is compatible with most control systems on the market and multiple ISO controllers to suit all operations.

Precision accuracy is achieved through a electro-magnetic flow meter which 'reads' correct volume irrespective of liquid viscosity, density or the presence of air in the liquid mix.

The complete system flush control allows a full system flush with no dilution to main product tank and it can be used as a transfer pump.

When matched with FMSA's Friction Flow backend system, full system flushes can be done with as little as 50 litres.

The Friction Flow injection system is used for in-furrow treatments and can be plumbed up to 150 times.

Lines can be set in any configuration to suit single, double or triple injection using ARAG non-drip nozzle bodies.

The key to the injection system is the friction flow metering through nylon tubing designed to regulate more constant lower pressure, achieving the same flow rates at lower operating pressures.

The Friction Flow can handle a range of products while reducing system failure due to high pressure.

Attached to a sprayer it can be used for pre and post-seeding treatments, including foliar spraying.

On the seeding bar, a dual line flow attaches behind a digging blade with the first line introducing a wetter while the second line dribbles a deep banded mix of Flexi-N and Furrow Prima, a Wilchem product that will offset the acidity produced in-furrow from nitrogen fertiliser.

FMSA also can provide a kit for in-line metering, via a Dosatron, having developed a range of Friction Flow tubing to handle a wide product range and designed to handle rates between 5L/ha and 500L/ha.

Manifolds are designed in banks on the bar to suit folding and hose set-ups and can be custom-designed.