The versatility of the Sicura seed drill

Sicura is a seed drill for small seeds, designed and manufactured by "MA/AG", for the specific characteristics of Italian and European soils. The machine, presented at Agritechnica, was designed by the manufacturer of Casalbuttano (in the province of Cremona) for no-till sowing, but can also be used on partially tilled soils; of course it can be customized with a wide range of accessories that allow it to adapt to the most different soil conditions. Sicura – explains the Lombard company in a note – is a towed machine with steering arm attachment, and is equipped with a robust and innovative central hopper frame (for seed and fertiliser), and a trolley with intermediate wheels equipped with large flotation tyres. The main frames, positioned on two rakes – on the front and rear of the machine – are equipped with the sowing elements. Each sowing element is mounted on an articulated, cushioned and adjustable parallelogram. It is characterized by two discs – one toothed and the other smooth – arranged in a staggered manner, equipped with ground scraper and spaced apart so as to accommodate the seed adductor tube. The seed is inserted into the ground by the device; the penetration of the bedders is guaranteed by a load of 180 kg, which can be increased through springs with adjustable preload. The end part of the sowing unit is variously configurable with single or double toothed discs or with mechanically adjustable pressure wheels, as well as the bedder on which it is also possible to apply a rubber wheel and beaver tail seed pressers. The sowing depth is manually adjustable via a dedicated crank. The seeder is available in the trailed version with working widths of 3 m (fixed or folding frame) and working widths of 4.5 and 6 m. For these the standard number of rows is 17, 25 and 33 respectively. The weight varies from a minimum of 3,150 kg for the 3-meter machine to a maximum of 8,700 kg for the 6-meter machine, while the power demand is between 100 and 250 Hp. For the 3-metre model, the seed and fertiliser hoppers are 1,300 and 600 litres respectively, while for the 4.5 and 6-metre models, the seed and fertiliser hoppers are 2,500 and 600 litres respectively. The Sicura pneumatic seed drills in the “SSP” version are equipped with a pneumatic seed and fertilizer conveyor system, volumetric dispenser and hydraulic drive. To improve the versatility of the machine and optimize field work, various types of set-ups are available that involve the use of electronics for the management of operations related to sowing, such as the electric drive of the distributors, the electronic control of the distributors themselves, the connection to satellite systems.