Seed drill range goes from strength to strength

British manufacturer Triton Seed Drills continues to goes from strength to strength and, after six years and nearly 150 seed drills sold, there are still no Tritons available second-hand, the company says.

“This is the ultimate litmus test for a seed drill system,” says managing director Simon Chaplin. “Much of our strong sales growth is coming from customers’ neighbours or customers buying a second Triton.”

He adds: “In the early days of Triton we mainly referred to the slot closure system for two reasons: 1) it allows e ective seed drilling in almost any conditions, and 2) the patented slot closure system is unique, giving an advantage over all other tine drills in marginal conditions.”

More recently, Triton has been referring to the drill’s other features, which it reckons are equally advantageous. With regards to the patented seeding blade, Simon Chaplin says: “10 years ago we switched from disc drills to tine drills because we were getting poor tillering in tighter soils behind the disc drills due to no mineralisation.

“We bought two of the best known British direct tine drills and one from Germany. The tillering of the crops improved but the black-grass exploded. Even when we drilled late into a sterile seed bed, we were getting black-grass because all other tine drills have upward-facing coulters that scoop black-grass seed up from below