Harvest season is in full swing. Besides handling all the post harvest processing, now is the time to manage all the crop residue. It means early preparation to remove stalk stubble so insects like corn borers and leafrollers have no chance to leave everlasting damage to future crops.
The Major Cyclone mower is designed for this purpose: to destroy the tough crop stubble. Conventional mulchers – including flails – quickly reach their limits in the fields and do not get to each stalk. The heavy duty mower has a patented double-chop blade system that shreds and mulches material much like a blender. The resulting material is chopped finely and evenly distributed on the ground leaving no windrows.
Ingo Janßen, an agricultural contractor in Emsland, in Northern Germany has been using the Major Cyclone to combat leafrollers on his maize crop. “There are a number of advantages to this system,” explained Mr. Janßen. “It is in this dry stalk area where parasites can find a place to stay for the winter. The Cyclone effectively shreds the remainder of the plant so the insects die out,” said Mr. Janßen.
Another advantage of using the Major Cyclone is it speeds up decomposition. Water can get into the roots more easily after a pass with the Cyclone. Heavy duty full-length rear rollers bend stalk fibres flat on the field which rots more quickly on the ground. This of course reduces the risk of fungal diseases.
A conventional flail mower would have ground contact to process stubble intensively. The rotary blade system has little to no ground contact which means significant savings in fuel and less wear over the machine’s lifetime. The Major Cyclone requires 50% less power and fuel requirements than a similar-sized flail. For example, a 140-hp tractor with a PTO at 1000/rpm is enough to power the 6.3m (22’) shredder.
The folding shredder is also advantageous for contractors who need to travel from site to site. The 6.3m (22’) model has a narrow 2.9m (9’) transport width for easy and safe road access. The Major Cyclone can also be front-mounted so crop stubble can be destroyed and the ground prepared with a rear-mounted disc harrow – all in one go.
