Adjusting the planter is one the most important steps to ensure a quality planting process. Every adjustment, either on the discs, meter units, vacuum pressure, or sowing depth, sets how the seed will be placed in the soil. When poorly adjusted, the outcome results in a seed bed without uniformity, waste of products, and lower yield.
To support the operation in this process, Stara has been developing technologies that make the adjustment easier, precise, and reliable. See the most frequent mistakes and how to avoid them.
Why is the planter adjustment required?
A correct planter adjustment makes sure the seeds find the ideal conditions for germination. Regarding the depth, spacing between plants and metering are adjusted, the emergence of plants is uniform and healthy.
Additionally, the care with the adjustment prolongs the agricultural machine lifespan. As a result, reducing the wear of the discs, meter units, and blowers. Studies of Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) show that incorrect depths may reduce the first emergence stage to 20%, a direct impact on the potential production of the crop field.
There’s another factor: the Precision Agriculture depends on the correct adjustment. Resources such as the variable rate and the control through Topper controller are impaired if the mechanical base of the planter is not well-adjusted.
Learn more: Agricultural loan: credit for machines and pieces of equipment
Six mistakes that impair the planter adjustment (and how to avoid them)
Even experienced operations can make mistakes that affect the outcome. These are major attention points:
1. Incorrect adjustment of the pressure of the row units
When there isn’t enough pressure applied to the planting row units, the discs don’t penetrate the soil as they should, resulting in shallow furrows and exposed seeds, and no uniform placement of seeds caused by the lack of the planting row units stability. On the other hand, the excess of pressure compacts the soil and makes difficult the uniform emergence of the plants.
Solution: calibrate the pressure of the row units according to the soil type and moisture conditions to ensure that the cutting, the furrow opening and the placement are balanced.
2. Incorrect sowing depth
Too shallow seeds are exposed and vulnerable. If they are placed too deeply, the germination can be slow or fail.
Solution: keep the recommended range (usually 3 to 5 cm), always considering the soil moisture and the weather conditions.
3. Lack of preventive maintenance
Wear of the discs, damaged meter units and blowers without being inspected impair the seed placement.
Solution: periodically inspect and follow the best practice of preventive maintenance.
4. Incorrect calibration of the rate of the inputs
Place seeds and distribute fertilizer in the incorrect amount causes waste and poor nutrition.
Solution: calibrate the rate before every harvest and validate the numbers, measuring the calibration by using tools integrated to Topper controller.
5. Failure to consider the soil conditions
Straw, moisture, and type of soil influence on the planter performance. Ignoring these factors may complicate the opening and closing of the furrow.
Solution: adjust the discs and pressure according to each field features.
6. Operating at improper speeds
Too high speeds may increase the planted area per day, but impair the uniform placement of the seeds and increase the fuel consumption.
Solution: keep the speed within 6 to 8 km/h and adjust as the crop and fertilizer system.
Step-by-step to adjust the planter correctly
To reduce the margin of error, it’s recommended to follow a practical adjustment sequence:
- Adjust the seed placement depth by considering the soil and climate.
- Adjust the pressure of the seed and fertilizer row units.
- Choose the meter discs according to the crop.
- Calibrate the rates for seeds, fertilizers, and inoculants.
- Adjust the vacuum pressure of the blowers, according to the crop.
- Inspect the drive and driven gears of mechanical planters.
- Adjust the pressure and angle of the closing wheels.
As Lucas Luersen reinforces, agronomist engineer and Stara product analyst:
The operator must calibrate and adjust the implement step-by-step carefully. The well-adjustment avoids failures, doubles, and ensures that the outcome is uniform in all planting row units.
Technologies that increase precision
The manual adjustment is still the base of any operation, but Stara provides technology solutions that increase the precision level, reduce waste, and make the process more predictable.
The Control System of the Stara planters allow the instantaneous adjustment of the seed population, an increment of 0.01 seed per metre. It ensures that the exact rate required by the crop and type used by the farmer.
Additionally, models such as Princesa and Absoluta feature a pneumatic seed meter (DPS), which ensures a precise and uniform seed placement to avoid doubles and failures. On the other hand, Estrela and Eva are equipped with the DPS-E, which works as a seed singulator by means of an electric system.
In addition, the Estrela planter adds a hydraulic pressure control, whose adjustment is through Topper controller, which keeps the pressure constant in all row units. Consequently, reducing trepidation and ensure the uniform seed placement into the soil.
Topper itself has other decisive resources for quality planting: variable rate settings, Row-by-Row Shut-Off System, and the Follow-me function that guides the operator with visual indications during calibrations and adjustments.
Also, Stara makes available a free service that connects the field with the factory directly. By means of Conecta, whenever necessary, the operator have access to remote technical assistance in real time to ensure quick corrections without interrupting the operation.
The set of technologies improves the operator efficiency by gathering the easy usage with cutting-edge solutions that increase the seed bed uniformity and the final yield.
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The adjustment impact on the planter when it comes to input savings.
The agricultural inputs, seeds, fertilizers, and substances for soil regulation, represent one of the largest portions of the production cost. For this reason, every detail of the planter adjustment has a direct impact in the farmer savings.
An incorrect adjustment may cause waste that are hard to get back during the harvest, while well adjustments mean higher precision, better usage, and a higher return in the investment.
How is the waste caused?
When the spacing between seeds is not uniform, the seed population density in the crop field is not balanced. It could result as much more than plants competing to each other as in fails in the seed bed. In both situations, the farmer loses the potential production of the area, and the investment made in the seeds.
The same happens for fertilizers. If the applied rate doesn’t correspond to the planned one, there’s risk of over metering. As a result, increasing costs and impairing the soil, or the poor metering, impairing the nutrition of the plants.
Agronomic studies mentioned already state that adjustment failures can represent waste of up to 10% in the usage of inputs, a significant value on large farms.
Technologies that reduce losses
The precise adjustment is higher efficient when combined with the precision agriculture. Topper controller, for instance, allows the variable rate application by adjusting the seeds and fertilizers as the actual need of each field. It ensures a balanced nutrition and the rational usage of the resources.
Other resources that boost the input savings: the Row-by-Row Shut-Off System, which avoids overlap in areas already planted, and the Zero Crop Damage, that stops the seed placement automatically on the paths where the sprayers and spreader will further travel. Both reduce waste and boost the seed bed efficiency.
Additionally, the preventive maintenance keeps the discs, meter units, and blowers under ideal conditions. Well-care implements reduce the mechanical failures that could impair the seed placement quality and cause significant losses.
In practice, the combination between the correct adjustment, precision agriculture resources, and the periodic maintenance ensure a uniform planting process with input savings and higher yield predictability.
Savings and sustainability in the field
The correct adjustment provides more than finance savings. It also reduces the environment impacts by avoiding the excess of non-renewable resources, and to optimize the energy and fuel usage.
Thus, every well adjustment helps with a more sustainable farming, gathering yield, cost reduction, environmental responsibility.
Stara solutions for an efficient planting process
The Stara planters were developed to simplify the adjustment and reduce the margin of error. The Stara Planting Monitor (MPS) integrated into Topper controller warns the operator when there is failure in the flow of seeds, while Topper centralizes the adjustments and data collecting in real time.
Other contents to learn more:
- Planter: how to boost the grain planting performance;
- Grain planter: how to boost precision;
- Agricultural technology: Five innovations that speed up the crop field operations
Conclusion
Correctly adjust the planter is what ensures a uniform planting process, the efficient usage of inputs, and a longer agricultural machine lifespan. The mistakes mentioned here may significantly reduce the crop field yield.
When the operator is alert to the adjustment by using technologies, such as Topper controller and Conecta, the process is safer and reliable. Thus, each adjustment carried out before the planting process results in higher precision, savings, and yield in the field.
Did you like the hints and want to find out the agricultural machine that best suits your crop field?
Stop by a Stara dealer and find the most suitable equipment to boost your crop production. Request a quotation.
