3-Wheel Rig Seeds Soybeans Into Wheat

3-Wheel Rig Seeds Soybeans Into Wheat PLANTERS Planters 15-1-25 In an area where normal wheat harvest is in mid-July, it's difficult to get good results from a double crop of soybeans planted after harvest. That's the problem that faces Lawrence Mitchell, Peru, Ill., who first got around the problem by broadcasting beans into standing wheat by airplane. Recently Mitchell came up with a new solution by fitting his home-built 3-wheel spray rig with an electric seeder so he can get double crop beans into wheat in late May or early June when it's still green. That gives him more time and a better shot at needed moisture. "Seeding by plane worked but it was hard to calibrate the seed," says Mitchell. "We tried for 2 bu. per acre by plane. That's what we seed with this rig. We do a lot better job." Mitchell has used the 3-wheel seeder for two years and likes the results. Because of the crop dividers on the wheels and the narrow tires, Mitchell says damage to the wheat crop is minimal. He can seed a 65-ft. swath per round. His best bean yield so far is 25 bu. per acre. He uses Basagran and Poast herbicides on the beans. Mitchell built the 3-wheeler himself. It consists of a simple angle iron frame mounted on motorcycle wheels with chain-driven sprockets. It's powered by an 11-hp. Wisconsin, electric-start engine. It powers a Craftsman lawnmower rear end with high and low speeds, and a transmission with 4 forward speeds and 1 reverse. The axle shafts were extended out to a span of 60 in. Sprockets at the ends of the shafts are the same dia. as the sprockets on the wheels. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lawrence Mitchell, Peru, Ill. 46970 (ph 815 223-4281).

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