Erth Engineering, Downpatrick

Specialist design and manufacture of Panbuster Subsoiler and Agriseeder Seed Drill along with a range of other non-powered cultivation equipment.

Erth Engineering is market-leader in the UK and Ireland for auto-reset grass subsoilers and grass disk drills. Erth Engineering offers a range of farm machinery which is designed and built at its base in Co Down, Northern Ireland. The company prides itself on building simple, functional, robust machines that can out perform all comers in the field.

Panbuster Grass Subsoiler
Soil is comprised of mineral or organic soil particles with spaces called “pore space”. This space contains varying amounts of air and water depending on soil type and conditions. The ratio of particle to pore space would ideally be 50:50 in natural un-compacted friable soils.

An appropriate aeration program can increase worm population and activity, and transform shallow rooting to deep rooting. This in turn will increase pasture growth. The overall soil structure will be more free draining which will improve plant production in the wet and the increased root depth will improve grass production in dry conditions. Independent tests have shown an average dry matter increase of over 20% in a fifteen month period.

Grass Subsoiler Options

• Sizes: 3-leg, 4-leg, 3 / 4 leg combi or 5-leg 3m machine.
• Soft drive on rear roller.
• Various leg options.
• Steel toothed packer.
• Longer side arms.
• Extendable side arms allow transportation on standard trailer (width reduced to 7 feet).

Panbuster Arable Subsoiler
A well aerated and drained soil with good structure will maximise root development. Good root development will assist plant production above ground. The use of a suitable subsoiler can increase production and profitability for any cropping regime.

Arable Subsoiler Options

• Unipack type roller
• DD packers
• Drill mounting kit
• Removal of hydraulic depth units

Agriseeder Drill

• Flexible machine with ability to sow into existing grass or burn off.
• Ability to sow grass, fodder crops and mixes to enhance silage swards.
• Low HP requirement; tractors from 100hp.
• Full in cab monitoring system to enable review of application rate and area covered.
• Auto-contour system gives superb depth control on undulating ground.

Slit Seeding
Subject to adequate temperature moisture is the single most important element needed for germination. By cutting a slit in the ground a natural moisture trap is produced so that seed germination is maximised and the young seedling is sheltered whilst it anchors its roots directly into the soil so minimising losses as grazing commences.

If a slit is cut too deep the seedling can fail as it will run out of energy and if cut too shallow then it can lose out on the advantages of the slit therefore good depth control is essential.

Sports fields apart, grass fields are undulating so depth control is more difficult. Most drills have a sprung loaded system to help cope with undulations. However the download pressures needed for a grass drill to do its job reduces the flexibility of these devices and can severely compromise depth control where there are ground contours as all the weight can be concentrated over several contours.

Auto Contour
With auto-contour a secondary suspension system is incorporated to increase flexibility. The drill frame is partitioned into 1m sections and the download is applied to each by a hydraulic ram. The rams are linked so download to each is equalised despite undulations.

Front Press / Superpress
The biggest problem with seed beds over the past ten years has been lack of consolidation. It exaggerates trace element problems and can depress yields dramatically. In today’s agriculture, the demand must be to achieve more out for less in. Reducing costs effectively means less man hours per acre. The addition of a suitable front press can increase output whilst improving seedbed consolidation and yield.

The Grass Panbuster Subsoiler
MOST STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS ON SPORTS TURF OCCUR IN THE TOP THREE INCHES.
The DISK AERATOR can be used on all types of turf-based sports surfaces. The machine’s continuous slitting action provides a greater surface area per metre for exchange and absorption than a conventional slitter and the machine’s root pruning action stimulates vigorous new root production.