The Amazone Cirrus 4001 Super is relatively new on the New Zealand market but has made a good impression as a high production implement
- Independent ground following coulters
- Sealed oil bath bearings on disc harrows
- Rubber sprung discs and coulters
- Automatic marker arms
- Quick change seed rollers
- Covers ground fast
- Low fuel requirement
- Big seed hopper
- Easily maneouvrable
- Accurate seed application
Headstock
Hooking the Cirrus onto any tractor was made easy with the swiveling headstock, which was easy to match up to the two-point linkage of the tractor. This also meant that it allowed impressive maneouvrability of the machine at headlands with the tractor able to turn 90º to the machine.
Hopper
The seed hopper has a capacity of 2200L, which is handy when sowing large seeds, meaning long intervals between refills.
To fill the hopper, I pulled the tractor alongside a landing, making it easy to tip the bags in. Because the hopper is so long, I was also able to empty bags into a loader bucket and tip the seed in. There is also a handy fold-away ladder for access to the front of the hopper for filling.
The hopper is equipped with a low seed sensor, which sets off an alarm, helping to avoid seed shortage. There is also an optional hopper extension that brings it up to 2800L.
Emptying the hopper at the end of a job or changing seeds was made simple by turning a handle at the bottom, and catching the seed as it drains out.
Calibration
There are three types of metering roller for different kinds of seed, and they are easily interchangeable even with a full hopper of seed.
The metering rollers are very narrow so I didn’t have to worry when using small amounts of seed, because unlike gravity boxes, there is no danger of seed vibrating to the middle and causing misses.
The Amazone Cirrus 4001 Super has electric drive on the metering roller, which makes the calibration process easier, but it still took a while to get my head around all the settings in the Amatron controller in the cab when calibrating the machine.
When I weighed the remaining seed at the end of each paddock, I was impressed at how accurately the seed had been applied, as it was near enough to the exact amount that should have been left over every time.
Computer
The Amatron computer is mounted in the cab, and is interchangeable between Amazone implements. On the Cirrus it controls a lot of the functions of the machine such as disc harrow depth, seed metering, harrow pressure, marker arms and more. It also displays machine set-up.
Discs
There are two rows of fully adjustable disc harrows that are protected with independent rubber suspension on each disc. They can be set to automatically return to the required depth after lifting. There is an override function which allows you to adjust depth on the move, meaning I was able to keep the discs in the ground when sowing in undulating paddocks.
Roller
The discs are then followed by the wedge ring rubber tyre roller, which supports the 6450kg weight of the machine and compacts the seed bed ready for the seed to be sown.
The roller consists of eight separate tyres, four of which act as road transport wheels.
Coulters
After the roller has compacted the soil, it is followed by a total of 32 sowing coulters that give 125mm row spacing for an even sowing job. Each of the eight rubber tyres has four coulters attached and can move separately to follow ground contour.
After the coulters, there is a covering harrow with adjustable spring tension which leaves a nice finish that is not sealed down, which is good in wetter conditions.
This system worked well on flat going but due to the length of the machine when operating on undulating ground, I imagine it could be easily damaged because there is no give in the frame they are mounted to. Luckily, Amazone has released an optional hydraulic ram kit to fix this.
Usability
The Amazone Cirrus 4001 Super has an optimum working speed between 12-20kph – the higher speeds definitely making for a better finish.
I tried this implement in a variety of conditions and soil types, including pumice, silt, clay and peat. It is a heavy machine, so conditions need to be ideal as it is on the upper weight limitations for working on peat. I also found it could go straight into sprayed out pasture at a push, but the seed bed is left quite turfy.
Suitability
This machine is suited to large scale farmers with flat to rolling terrain because of its high productivity and low fuel requirement.
I could also see it being useful for maize contractors who need to get their intermediate crops in and established in a hurry.
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Specifications
Working width (m) 4
Transport width (m) 3
Operating speed (km/h) 12-20
Work rate (ha/h) 3
Pulling power requirement (kW/PS) 110/150
Contents of seed hopper (L) 2200
Drawbar Lower link cat.III
Weight (kg) 6450
Tyres transport running gear (km/h) 40 – integrated 4 tyres
Number of wedge-ring tyres 8
Row spacing (cm) 12.5