Ascenso helps farmers choose best tyres

Ascenso, which offers a range of tyres suitable for sprayers, including self-propelled sprayers and mounted sprayers, said that this season many farmers will be asking:

• Is it necessary to change the tyres on my tractor if I am pulling a trailed crop sprayer?

• Is it better to keep my original wide tyres because it is easier not to change them?

• Should I change to narrow row crop tyres to avoid damaging my crops?

A spokesperson for the company said: “You may think that there is only a slight difference in the width of the tyres, but the difference in terms of crop yield will be noticeable.

“Spraying requires numerous trips across your fields and the impact in terms of soil and crop damage will be significant.”

Wide VF tyres

Ascenso explained that wide tyres are better in certain conditions, but the effect of wide tyres will depend on the tyre technology used.

Wide tyres, particularly low-pressure VF tyres, would be suitable during the first spraying operations at the end of the winter season. In this situation, narrow row crop tyres, which require higher inflation pressures and do not have a large contact area with the ground, will be less suitable.

For all fertiliser applications before sowing, the use of wide, low-pressure VF tyres has many advantages. High load capacity, low-pressure VF tyres have flexible yet robust casings capable of carrying heavy loads, allowing the use of larger sprayer tanks and wider booms.

Working at pressures as low as 0.8 bar, VF tyres help avoid soil compaction and the formation of ruts during soil preparation. VF tyres do not require pressure adjustments during cyclic operations and can operate at the same inflation pressure with a full or empty sprayer tank, Ascenso continued.

“Standard non-VF tyres are not suitable for spraying during the wet season, as compaction to the lower layers of soil will be significant, and it will then be necessary to repair the damaged soil.

“You can avoid these additional costs and loss of time with the use of tyres more suitable for spraying in wet conditions. The effect of a low-pressure VF tyre working at 0.8 bar will be very different from that of a standard technology tyre, which will require inflating to at least 1.6 bar to carry the thousands of litres of liquid transported in the sprayer tank, or more if the sprayer is equipped with wide booms.

“If you are looking to fit wide VF tyres, the Ascenso VDR 2000 comes in a range of sizes suitable for self-propelled sprayers, trailed sprayers and tractors. Featuring an advanced tread design with a wider and longer footprint, the VDR 2000 reduces soil stress and compaction offering improved yields. With its advance VF technology, it can carry heavy loads at low inflating pressures,” a spokesperson for Ascenso added.

Narrow row crop tyres

During the spring season if conditions are not too wet, or in the summer, fitting narrow row crop tyres will have less impact on the soil surface during spraying operations, the tyre expert said.

Unlike wide tyres, which crush the crops, narrow tyres have less impact on the soil and allow young seedlings to develop correctly throughout the field. The limited width of the narrow tyres footprint reduces the number of plants damaged as well as the impact on your crop’s root system.

The Ascenso team added: “If you are pulling a trailed crop sprayer with your tractor, to reduce the impact on the soil surface and damage to plants, both sprayer and tractor should be fitted with the same width of tyre and the sprayer tyres must follow in the same tracks between the rows as the tractor.

“Ascenso’s VDR 900 VF tyres have been designed to carry 40% more load than a conventional radial tire, or the same load at 40% lower pressure.

“The more radially stiffer tyre makes it possible to transition from field to road and vice versa without adjusting the inflation pressure. At the reduced pressure required for field use, the tyre can also run at full speed on the road yet deliver the same fuel efficiencies as a standard tyre at road pressure.”

The company said that steel belts offer puncture protection and distributes uniform ground pressure which helps reduce soil compaction and crop damage.

These tyres have been designed with stronger lugs with a large contact patch that gives excellent traction with the unique and innovative design of Ascenso’s mud breaker technology self-cleaning characteristics, which decreases slippage, delivers lower fuel consumption, and increases overall productivity.

Find your local dealer for Ascenso tyres.

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