Weed seed control technology now more accessible

Harvester-integrated weed seed control is now within reach for so many more growers following the release of a vertical, mechanical-drive version of the popular Integrated Harrington Seed Destructor (iHSD).

Featuring a price tag of just $85,000 plus GST and fitting costs, the new unit is now more affordable for farmers who wish to reduce weed seed count in their soil seed bank but do not have a massive budget to work with.

According to the Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative (AHRI) and WeedSmart Western Extension Agronomist, Peter Newman, the release came at a great time as about one-third of the nation’s grain-growers are looking to invest in harvester-integrated weed seed control technology.

He added many growers were waiting for harvester-integrated systems to become more cost-effective and reliable, and the vertical iHSD is now a viable option.

Newman witnessed the new system in action on a property near Carnamah in Western Australia last month and said he was super impressed with the results.

The Harrington Seed Destructor (HSD) was invented over two decades ago by WA grower Ray Harrington as an alternative to other methods of weed seed control such as windrow burning which have proven to be ineffective, in addition to being harmful to the environment.

The HSD was initially developed as a tow behind cart that pulverises up to 99 per cent of weed seeds in the chaff during harvest time.

With the help of UniSA with investment from GRDC, the HSD was developed into a retrofit kit for modern headers, becoming the Integrated Harrington Seed Destructor (iHSD) which was launched in 2016.

Over the years, iHSD has undergone continuous development by SKF Engineering and DeBruin Engineering, together with national distributor, McIntosh Distribution.

McIntosh WA Dealer Principal – Southern Branches, Devon Gilmour, said the ongoing developments with the iHSD had inspired the team to develop a simple, alternative version based on the already high performing cage mills from the hydraulic-drive system, which could be driven consistently at 3000rpm and achieve up to 99 per cent kill rates of targeted weed seeds.

“We wanted to maintain the mill system from the hydraulic version. With the capacity of the mills and the seed kill rate, we knew we had the right mill set to do the job,” Gilmour said.

“One of the keys was to drive the mill set consistently at 3000rpm – the minute that drops off, it has the potential to compromise the mill capacity.

“The hydraulic system could always consistently achieve the speed and capacity and we have managed to match this with the vertical, mechanical unit with a belt set tested with only a 20rpm variance of the target speed.

“We tested a mid-range belt and it proved to be correct. We ran some of the units at 3250rpm. We know that when you are operating at over 3000rpm, you are not getting the drop in capacity and you are getting the kill rate.”

In addition to the lower price tag, the vertical iHSD also offers several new features for better efficiency. This includes a trap door that collects any foreign material coming into the system, as well as a rear hatch that could be removed and the iHSD bypassed to effectively create a harvest windrow for easily checking grain losses.

“With horizontal systems, anything coming through drops into the mill set and there has been concerns with fires from objects like bolts coming into the mills,” Gilmour said.

“With the vertical design, we have a massive cavity under the sieve, so there is no chance of bridging and we can have a trap door at the bottom.

“It is a significant cavity between the auger flighting and the trap door – anything coming in sits in that. For anything foreign to go into the mill set, it would have to go down and sideways.

“It also allows for sieve removal, except on John Deere headers with the one piece sieves.”

According to Gilmour, the cost of the vertical, mechanical iHSD was much lower since there was no need to run all the gearboxes associated with all other existing systems.

“There are no gearboxes and electric pumps. It is the most direct drive system you can get – and one of the beauties of the system is if something does arise, it is so simple to come up with a solution,” he said.

“The vertical iHSD will have a much broader appeal to the marketplace and can be driven off a much broader range of combines. It can also be easily fitted on-farm.”

Eight vertical units have been successfully tested in some bulky crops during the WA harvest fitted to a range of header brands with various capacities, including a John Deere S680 and New Holland CR 10.90 with twin pitch rotor system, through to a New Holland CR970 that had clocked-up 4500 hours.

For the 2019 grain harvest, a limited number of 100 of the vertical, mechanical iHSD have been allocated for Australian growers.

A further demonstration of the system will be held on Friday, February 8 in WA in a standing crop on a property east of Broomehill. Interested growers can contact McIntosh & Son at Katanning on 08 9821 7000.

For more information on the iHSD and how it works, visit ihsd.com