A formidable development for trailed crop sprayers has been announced by a British company. First to market following 12 months’ development, Landquip unveils a truly revolutionary trailed sprayer with a unique, self-contained hydraulic drive system powering the sprayer axle.

The all new PowerTrac trailed sprayers will be offered in 6000, 7000 & 8000 litre capacities and will feature a brand new pneumatic, level-ride axle suspension system with quadruple air bags.

The machine’s self-contained hydraulic drive system utilizes a load sensing, high torque, axial piston pump driven at 1000rpm by the tractor’s PTO, transmitting up to 130hp to the sprayer drive axle.

During field trials a 6000 litre PowerTrac fully laden with a payload of 8400kg of suspension fertiliser was able to propel the complete outfit across a ploughed field whilst applying liquid fertiliser at up to 1200 litres/hectare at 12kph with the tractor taken out of gear.

Carrying high payloads of fertiliser up to 8800kg, the PowerTrac range of trailed machines offers better weight distribution and less soil compaction than large self propelled sprayers carrying their weight on 2 axles. Having 3 driven axles the tractive force required to propel the combination is shared between 6 wheels resulting in less slippage, soil disturbance and compaction.

Steering or non-steering axles can be specified with track width options from 1.8 to 2.0 metres (72”-80”) with export machines being available with track widths up to 2.5 metres. The steering option offers a 20o tight turn axle. Air brakes are standard with ABS as an option.

Running on large 710mm wide wheels all round with good balance and weight distribution on all 3 driven axles, the outfit is easily propelled in the most arduous and challenging of conditions.

The PowerTrac’s intelligent power-on-demand system has 2 forward and 2 reverse speeds powering the axle at up to 18kph for in field applications and is claimed to be extremely advantageous when reversing into headland corners.

With 6 x 6 driven wheels the propulsion of the outfit is claimed to be effortless when used with tractors of 200+ hp, and much safer on hillsides as the tractor’s wheels are less prone to loss of traction.

Spray pump sizes are 450, 700 or 1300 l/min. to match the PowerTrac’s increased capabilities. Application rates up to 1400 litres/hectare at 12kph can be achieved when applying suspension fertiliser at up to 42 metres.

Sharing the same DNA as all large capacity Landquip sprayers, the PowerTrac’s tank is equipped with a pressurized agitation system (PAS) ensuring the entire tank contents remain fully mixed irrespective of the liquid’s specific gravity – fertilisers do not settle out and chemicals and powders are efficiently agitated.

The PowerTrac range offers as standard pressurised boom recirculation and pneumatic sprayline blow-out to eject chemical back to tank or out via the nozzles prior to rinsing or washing out, resulting in a more time efficient wash procedure requiring less water.

Landquip’s Poziflow recirculation system has been further developed to ensure that wide boom agitation, even distribution and equal pressure across the whole boom are delivered irrespective of application volume.

As with all Landquip crop sprayers, the PowerTrac is equipped with robustly constructed aluminium booms up to 44 metres which are chemical, fertiliser, acid and rust resistant.

The easy to operate fill station includes stainless steel ball valves, easy clean 30 litre induction bowl that incorporates chemicals at up to 3 litres/second and handles powders with ease.

Colour screen electronics includes GPS auto air-switched sections, variable rate control and coverage mapping.

An automatic lubrication system and tyre inflation are offered as options. Prices from around £130,000.