Accelerate drying

Plants have a waxy coating to protect them from drying out. The necessary gas exchange with the ambient air is regulated only by stomata; microscopic openings in the leaves and stem. Immediately after mowing, these openings close to protect the plant. This means that during drying, water can only escape through the less permeable waxy coating.

The conditioner has the job of breaking up the waxy layer of the mown crop, which brings about two major advantages. The mowed crop dries faster. Less nutrients are lost by reducing the time the crop is left wilting in the field. In addition, this also facilitates the release of cell juice in the clamp. This results in faster pH value reduction. What this means is that the silage reaches a stable state more quickly.

For the best working results, a conditioner must be chosen that suits the crop to be mown. For crop with high grass content, for example, the ED tine-type conditioner achieves good results. It hits the stalks in the crop. For especially leafy forage, the RC roller conditioner is recommended. This conditioner crimps the crop.

Adapted to the season

In the hot summer months, when there is little plant mass in the crop, there is often a risk that the mown grass dries out too quickly if it is mowed with a conditioner. During silage preparation, this can be difficult to compact in the clamp and lead to lactic acid fermentation.

Studies have also shown that there are significantly more insects in grassland stands in the summer growth phases in June and July. That is why the conditioner has a bad reputation concerning the mortality rate of insects.

So while mowing with a conditioner makes sense in several respects in spring and autumn, the need for a conditioner may well be questioned in summer.

Quick-change conditioner

That is why at PÖTTINGER we recommend a system that allows you to use the same mower with or without conditioner. Swapping around can be done in just a few simple steps.

1 mower – 3 possibilities

Thanks to the optional quick-change kit both the tine-type and roller conditioners can be removed in a short time.

You can switch between the tine and roller conditioner in just a few steps, or install a guard curtain:

• Take off the V-belt

• Fit the conditioner trolley

• Undo the conditioner fastenings

• Remove the conditioner

• Fit guard curtain / alternative conditioner

Placement strategies

Thanks to their adjustable swath doors, both conditioner systems can either spread the crop wide or forming a swath, depending on the specific requirements.

Wide placement offers the advantage that because the forage is in an airy loose blanket, the tedder can either be omitted, or drying can be shortened by 2-5 hours with a subsequent tedding process. In the case of hay, the wide placement makes a 2-day harvesting process possible by drying quickly from the start and greatly minimising the weather risk.