Despite its rather exotic name, Mzuri is a British company based in Worcestershire, which was established in response to the frustration and expense of traditional crop establishment.
Its founder, Martin Lole, was dismayed at the cost of the standard plough and cultivator methods he found himself using, so he donned his agricultural engineer's hat and set about developing a drill based on the strip tillage concept.
Minimum soil disturbance
In this system it is just a strip of soil that is cultivated, leaving undisturbed areas of stubble in between the seeded rows.
The thinking behind the idea is that the germinating seed can take advantage of the the natural soil structure that has been preserved on either side of its own seed bed.
The remaining stubble is said to act to prevent capping and erosion while straw left on the surface encourages worm activity and reduces moisture loss.
Healthy bank balance
Another great advantage of strip tillage is that being a one-pass system, it dramatically reduces machinery and fuel costs, and this was the main driving force behind the development of the Mzuri drills.
The company has just added a further machine to its range, the Mzuri iPass, a model it refers to as being a next generation drill.
It boasts a 5000L pressurised tank which meters and enables the accurate conveyance of seed and fertiliser at high rates, to keep up with higher forward speeds.
The large capacity tank features four variable-speed electric metering units for efficient delivery across the width of the machine. Two units control fertiliser and two control seed, giving operators the option to shut off half of the width.
Mzuri, farmer owned and developed
The metering mechanism can accommodate all fertiliser compounds and seed types found in common tillage operations, including small OSR and grass seeds to large maize and winter beans.
As a farmer himself, Martin is hugely enthusiastic about the method, especially the savings it has offered him over the years.
“Considering diesel savings, man-hour savings, capital investment and fertiliser savings - and on this farm increasing yields – the financial benefits of this drill are enormous and too valuable to be ignored.”
He goes on to claim that in spring cropping, by placing fertiliser in bands, up to 100kg less fertiliser per hectare may be used when compared to traditional establishment.
New subsoiler from Mzuri
In addition to the new drill, Mzuri will be showcasing its new low disturbance subsoiler at this year’s event.
Designed to complement direct drilling establishment, the Rehab is available in 3m, 4m and 6m, with a leg spacing of 500mm and a stagger of 750mm for free movement of crop residue.
