The RotaDairon® machine, dependent on its size, is able to bury a wide variety of debris, stones, small trees and clumps of vegetation. These are picked up with the freshly broken out soil and thrown relatively gently against the separation screen fingers on the rear of the cultivator.

Fine soil and pebbles pass through the fingers while the large material (+20mm) is trapped within the cultivation chamber and falls down into the cultivation ‘trench’.

Integral in the machine is a grading blade that captures the worked soils after they pass through the fingers. This blade spreads the fresh and graded tilth over the debris that has fallen into the ‘trench’.

In catching the tilth it also accumulates a small volume as the unit travels, this spreads itself evenly across the width of the cultivation and will fill small holes and remove small high spots in paddocks.

While not intended to be used as a grader this slight effect can be managed to improve the paddock contour.

Burying stones, grass clumps etc will also improve the
travelling conditions for tractors and machinery allowing higher and more comfortable travel speeds – or historic travel speeds with less dynamic compaction.

Strata improvement
The burying effect is in fact partially a gravity separation, heavier materials fall faster into the ‘trench’.

Large stones will be found in the bottom of the trench, woody material above this and clods next with the tilth in a layer at the surface because it has been able to pass through the fingers.

It is important to note that the RotaDairon® does not beat the clods into tilth rather that the tilth occurs as the soils ‘break-out’ and by abrasion within the machine as the clods tumble over the rotor.

Digging into cultivation in ‘cloddy’ soil it can be seen that the surface is well prepared tilth while the clods are neatly layered below.

Similarly in ground that is 90% stones of varying sizes you will find the cultivation distinctly layered small on top, largest on the bottom.

Placing the debris, both hard and soft, deep in the cultivation provides a ‘base coarse’ for the seedbed. Improved drainage, and better aeration of the soil follows.

Allowing the roots of the grass to penetrate into this ‘base coarse’ provides for a deeper root structure that is more resistant to mechanical stresses, wind and water erosion and that has better access to moisture.

Least possible moisture loss
Each time soil is turned over it presents fresh moisture to the elements.

Under conventional cultivation it will take a number of passes to achieve the ideal seedbed. Every pass between the first and the last looses moisture.

When finally the conventional seedbed is ready it has lost the most moisture it can. The seeds are being placed in a situation where more water will probably be required to get a good strike.

Coupled with moisture loss due to repeated cultivations is the idea of heat loss for similar reasons.

With the RotaDairon® combination cultivator-seeder system the ground is prepared into the ideal seedbed with the most moisture the fresh ground will have to offer until the next rain.

Similarly the seeds will be placed into the warmest soil because it had only been turned for a fraction of a second before the seed was placed.

Best possible combination of conditions for germination.

Optimal seed strike conditions
The RotaDairon® seedbed is as moist as and as warm as it can be for the seed placement.

The notched cast iron or mesh roller provides the correct degree of compaction to gently bind the soil while the seed germinates and the grass plants establish. It also creates small pockets in the rolled furrows that act both to collect moisture and to create a small heat collector – one turf
specialist described this as a ‘micro-climate’ to us on the seedbed.

Perfect Earth is proud to use ROTADAIRON!