A new high-speed cultivation implement that can be used to manage cover crop vegetation prior to drilling has been introduced to the Spaldings range of field equipment.

The Geacut 600 manufactured by Sacho Land Solutions is a trailed implement with three serrated rollers covering a working width of 6.0m. Operating speeds of up to 30kph give the optimum cultivation effect and enable users to rack up very high work rates.

“With the full-width replaceable steel blades impacting and cutting into crop residues and the soil surface, this implement is also effective on oilseed rape and maize stubbles, to encourage the breakdown of cover crop vegetation, and for controlling slugs,” says Paul Denton product development manager at Spaldings.

“Lower running costs compared with conventional cultivators result from the very high outputs achievable and from lower wearing parts costs compared with implements that drag steel discs or tines through abrasive soil.”

One of the secrets behind the Geacut’s high working speed capability is the way each of the rollers is connected to its frame by a patent-pending assembly incorporating rubber ‘doughnuts’ acting as shock absorbers.

“This unique feature allows enough movement between the frame and bearing to significantly reduce shock stress getting through,” says Paul Denton. “It’s a clever engineering solution that enables the implement to operate at much higher speeds than usual without shaking the bearing assembly to bits.”

The two wing rolls are attached to folding arms by pivot pins that allow them to follow surface contours and tight turns are made possible by trailing the Geacut from the tractor’s lower lift arms.

A tubular steel drawbar becomes the backbone of the implement, with the centre roller and transport wheels mounted at the back, behind the two wing rollers.

These are attached to the chassis by angled pivots so that the wings fold forwards and upwards to a vertical position for transport while minimising overall height and maintaining stability through a lower centre of gravity.

The Geacut 600 weighs in at 5210kg, which is sufficient for the prominent cultivating strips to penetrate light to medium soils. For heavier land and where a large amount of surface vegetation is involved, water ballast can be added to each roller to increase weight to 7020kg in all.

Sacho Land Systems, which is a sister company to TMC Cancela, the manufacturer of heavy-duty duty rotary and flail mowers distributed by Spaldings, recommends a tractor of at least 150hp to operate the Geacut, which is priced at £28,000.