Claydon will be extending its range of hydraulically-folding Claydon Rolls at LAMMA with the launch of a new 6.3m version. The range will be further expanded later in the year with the addition of an 8.3m unit.
 
The introduction of these two new models follows the success of the 12.3m Claydon Roll, which was seen for the first time at Cereals 2014. Folding horizontally to less than 2.85m wide for road transport, the unit incorporates five 2.5m-wide sections and weighs 8400kg, generating 682kg of pressure per metre of width. The Claydon load transfer system ensures that the rolls deliver uniform consolidation across the entire working width of the machine. Equipped with 600mm-diameter breaker rings mounted on a 60mm shaft, the unit accurately follows the ground contours and consolidates down in the seeding rows, creating an uncompromised finish.

Requiring no more than a 120hp tractor, the 12.3m Claydon Roll will achieve an output of 6.63ha per hour at a forward speed of 6kph and is ideally suited to 24m tramlines.
 
Weighing 4500kg, the new 6.3m wide, three-section Claydon Roll delivers a pressure of 715kg per metre evenly across the full working width and also folds down to 2.85m wide for transport. 
 
“Achieving thorough consolidation around the seeding zone is a key factor in achieving effective crop establishment,” states Spencer Claydon, Sales Director of Claydon Drills.

 “A well-timed pass with a set of Claydon Rolls will improve ‘soil to seed’ contact, help to retain moisture, reduce erosion, improve chemical spray contact and decrease slug activity. Claydon Rolls have been developed to allow farmers to roll effectively after strip and traditional seeding to ensure that crops receive an uncompromised start.”
 
Claydon Rolls are the latest development of the Claydon System. The Claydon Drill’s patented seeding technique allows farmers to establish many different types of crops direct into stubble, min-tilled or fully-cultivated soils.
 
The cost of establishing crops with the Claydon system, the company reckons, is approximately one-third that of using a full cultivations programme and half that of conventional minimum tillage.