High-Speed, Precision Planting with the White Planters 9800VE

Any planter can be driven faster, but controlling seed placement as it is being deposited at higher speeds becomes the issue. In typical planter setups, faster speeds can cause the seeds to bounce around in the seed tube and ricochet into the trench—negatively impacting spacing, placement, and yield.

Enter the White Planters™ 9800VE with SpeedTube, a leading-edge Precision Planting® technology that will allow faster planting speeds, yet maintain accurate seed placement every time. “There is an optimum window for planting that generates maximum yield,” says Larry Kuster, AGCO senior product marketing specialist. “If you can plant 40% to 60% more acres during your optimum window, that’s a good thing.”

According to Kuster, the key is a “flighted belt” or conveyer that matches ground speed of the planter. Each seed is captured by two rotating and pliable “fingers” on the conveyer that create a kind of protected seed chamber.
“There is no free fall in a tube to potentially knock the seed off-target,” says Kuster. As a result, whereas most planters working corn would be driven 4.5 to 5.5 mph, the 9800VE with SpeedTube can plant corn at speeds nearing 10 mph.

As always, though, speed is governed by field conditions, cautions Kuster. Operators can use the 20/20 SeedSense® monitor to see what the ride is like in each planting row unit. “The system will tell him if he’s losing ground contact.”

The 20/20 SeedSense also tracks population, speed and row-unit ride, as well as the rare skips and doubles should they occur.

The 9800VE planters also use the vSet® electric drive meter, which further ensures accuracy. No two seeds of any kind can occupy the same hole in the five-lobed singulator. The singulator, which works with high vacuum pressure and a flat disk surface, does not require adjustment for varying seed size.

The White VE Series planters with SpeedTube also come equipped with Precision Planting’s DeltaForce® hydraulic downforce control that matches field conditions on the go. Over a wide range of soil textures and topography, DeltaForce provides consistent seed depth placement for each individual row. “DeltaForce is a must at higher planting speeds,” says Kuster. The consistency with which it performed—and the resulting crop stands—during AGCO’s Crop Tour 2016 was “eye-opening,” he adds.

All this planting technology is coupled with White Planters’ rugged durability in models that offer a narrow-transport 12-foot width. The 9800VE Series features large double-disc seed trench openers that allow for accurate seed depth placement. The cast and machined row unit assembly provides strength and a precise, consistent alignment of all components.

The end result is seed placed consistently and evenly in the bottom of the trench, setting the stage for improved yields.

See the walk-around video of the new White Planters 9800VE with SpeedTube online here: http://agcocropcare.com/high-speed-precision-planting-white-planters-9800ve/

By Des Keller