Grass Master

A high-output Grass Harrow and seeder, designed for large-scale farmers and contractors. The Grass Master consists of a heavy-duty harrow complete with levelling board, purpose-built to carry an Air 16 Seeder. The unit enables light cultivation and levelling to be carried out for complete re-seeds or over-seeding, with higher seed rates and faster working speeds than have been available up to now. The seeder has 16 outlets with hydraulic fan and 400-litre seed hopper. Other features are full in-cab electronic control plus variable seed rate on the move and radar.

• Heavy duty frame - built to stand high usage and last.
• Levelling board - levels and cultivates seedbeds whilst seeding.
• In-cab control box - allows on the move seed rate adjustment.
• Hydraulic fan drive - handles high seed rates without blockage.
• Step and loading platform - easy and comfortable loading.
• Coarse (green) and fine (blue) seed rollers.

The development of this rugged grass harrow and seeder combination capable of high work rates has been in line with the dramatic increase in the amount of work contractors are undertaking.

The productivity of old or patchy leys can be rejuvenated and the life of the ley extended, simply by overseeding. This is especially useful where poor drainage or flooding has killed off grass in certain areas of a field, or where livestock have poached ground near gateways and troughs. In addition, the field does not have to come out of use.

With few effective clover-safe herbicides around, many farmers have adopted the approach of ridding the leys of perennial weeds like docks and thistles first, and only stitching-in clover once a clean grass ley has been established. Using the OPICO Grass Master, bare ground is exposed onto which the broadcast clover seed can land and establish.

Typically a first-year reseed is expected to give 25% more yield than an old ley, although improvements of 40% have been known. Furthermore, the modern grass varieties in seed mixtures have been bred to utilise nitrogen better, and have higher yields and digestibility than older grasses.

In soil conditions where it is difficult to establish new leys, aggressively cultivating the surface and heavily overseeding with an OPICO seeder in consecutive seasons can give a reliable alternative.

After the usual ground cultivations, always roll the field at least once to obtain a good firm seedbed before harrowing and seeding and then roll again after to ensure good soil to seed contact.

For leys to reach their full potential for yield and quality, an integrated approach to grassland management is essential.

As well as harrowing, this includes: maintaining good drainage, avoiding soil compaction, reseeding with grass and clover mixtures appropriate to livestock and purpose, timely weed and pest control and tailoring fertiliser applications to compensate for soil nutrient shortfalls.

Grass is a very valuable crop and treating it as such can dramatically reduce seed costs.

Unlike most other types of seeders, the OPICO Air 16 seeder uses individual metering wheels for each seed outlet enabling extremely accurate seed metering and guaranteeing the same amount of seed is fed to each outlet.

This is crucially important when using low seed rates and small seeds.

Four types of metering rollers are available. Two of these quickly interchangeable seed rollers are supplied as standard, the third or fourth can be purchased as an extra.

The amount of seed applied is controlled by the speed of the metering roller and is adjusted until the desired seed rate is achieved. The Air 16 electronic machines have a speed sensing motor that is constantly checked and adjusted by the computer control box to give you a constant seed rate at all times.

Electronic versions	Calibration	Drive mechanism
The control box in the cab allows setting and adjustment on the move, and records the area that has been travelled and how much seed was put on that area.	On all machines this is performed by removing the metering roller cover and using the calibration tray.	Toothed, non slip drive belts are used to transmit power to the seed roller and agitator. Agitator disengagement for delicate seeds is done by simply reversing the agitator drive pulley.

All OPICO Grass Masters come as standard with radar to give constant forward speed related seed metering. It doesn’t matter if you slow down or increase your speed you will always get the correct seed rate.

A hydraulic fan provides the airflow to deliver the seed down the pipe to the correct position on the machine.

Hydraulic drive units include a fan speed sensor and alarm to warn the operator if the fan is not turned on when seeding or if there is a malfunction.

Even pressure is applied across every inch of the working width. The frame adapts to the ground contours with additional pressure being supplied from the accumulator to even the harrowing pressure across the working width.
Active harrow bed suspension on the implement frame.
A flexible harrow bed adapts to ground undulations.

The flexible design of the tine beds allow them to follow the contours of the land ensuring effective coverage and even tine pressure. Each 1.5m bed has 48 tines spaced at 30mm centres apart and as well as ensuring good tine pressure onto the ground, this design allows it to self-clean as it moves through the sward. 

Quick and simple tine angle and pressure adjustment, ground conditions will determine how aggressive tine pressure needs to be for effective harrowing. On the OPICO Grass Master there are 10 tine angle settings so pressure can be altered, ensuring the vibrating action of the triple coil spring tine can be maximised. 

The Grass Master's spring tines are able to penetrate even the hardest of ground, ripping out dead thatch and opening up the soil surface allowing air in to the root zone to stimulate and encourage growth. The oil hardened spring wire has three times the service life of a normal sprung steel wire. Channel mounting of tine coil prevents damage to the growing tip and leaf of the grass. 

When in the transport position, the Grass Master folds up to 2.8m. This allows easy transportation on the road and through narrow gateways. 

Hydraulic cylinder with accumulator and hydraulic shut-off valve can be locked for safe road transport.

The Grass Master comes in 4 variations that includes both 6m and 8m working widths, with both models offer the option of 7mm or 8mm spring tines.

Approximate maximum seed rates:

80kg per hectare on 6m working width.

67kg per hectare on 8m working width.