A detailed overview of the Certa 40 Integral

The Certa 40 Integral is Dewulf's solution for growers who want a compact all-in-one planter. With this cup planter, we combine soil cultivation, planting and ridging in a single working pass. In this blog, we provide an in-depth look at the machine! 

Nine wheels in front of the cultivator 

The Certa 40 Integral features nine cultivator wheels (six wide and three slightly narrower) to ensure precise and consistent soil cultivation. The width also ensures substantial contact area, providing adequate carrying capacity, especially in light or loose soil. Moreover, the working depth of the cultivator can be controlled via these support wheels (and this can even be done fully automatically, as an option). Ultrasonic MR-Control sensors in the ridging hood are used to control the adjustment cylinders for the depth wheels. A relative planting depth can also be set via the controls in the tractor. This is done by entering the following data:

• how many centimetres of soil you want above the tuber, measured from the top of the ridge
• the average diameter of the tubers
• how many centimetres of loose soil you want below the tuber

Once the planter has been given these values, the machine regulates itself – fully automatically – to these desired values. The working depth of the cultivator and the position of the opener beam and ridging hood are continuously monitored via a range of sensors and adjusted as necessary.

Effective soil crumbling

This new cup planter is fitted with the SC 300 compact rotary cultivator for the 4 x 75 cm version. With its 650 mm rotor shaft and 112 cultivator hooks, this cultivator achieves effective soil crumbling. The position of the hooks also ensures good handling of any stones. The staggered hook pattern on this cultivator ensures there is never more soil on one side than the other at a lower working speed. The 4 x 90 cm variant is fitted with a SC 360 cultivator. 

As an option, you can also have hydraulically adjustable chisels fitted here to loosen the soil compacted by the tractor. This ensures optimal soil permeability while significantly reducing the load on the cultivator, which has the added benefit of reducing fuel consumption. 

Optimal view of planting elements via cameras

Because the Certa 40 Integral has a large bunker with a capacity of up to 3.5 tonnes (with bunker extension), the plan was to mount the bunker just above the cultivator, close to the tractor. Locating the bunker there does, however, block the direct view of the planting elements from the cabin. Nevertheless, you can continuously monitor the planting elements via the camera view provided by the two HR cameras installed as standard above the planting elements and the clear display in the cabin. Indeed, the placement of the cameras allows the entire rising section of the cup belt – two planting elements per camera – to be seen at a glance. 

Exact planting distance between the tubers

First and foremost, this is achieved by the sharp V-shape of the furrow openers. These furrow openers are also suspended from a beam in a hydraulically operated parallelogram. This allows adjustment of the relative planting depth of the tubers with respect to the top of the ridge from the tractor cabin. Additionally, deflector plates are mounted in the furrow openers to ensure the tuber is released in the correct direction, namely in the direction of travel. The large 410 mm covering discs, mounted as close as possible to the planting element, prevent potatoes from rolling out of position. In this way, Dewulf prioritises precise planting distance with the Certa 40 Integral. 

The planting elements are fitted with agitators that eliminate the possibility of two potatoes in one cup. The vibration intensity is also easy to set via the control screen. The optical detection (‘Eagle Eye’) registers each individual tuber and alerts the driver if there are too many misses. 

Modified ridging hood 

The ridging hood was modified to allow the familiar straight forming plates to be mounted while also creating a large, wide back with convex sides. With this design, a more voluminous ridge is formed. Optionally, nylon plates (Ertalon) can also be fitted, which reduce soil adhesion, resulting in less wear. We always achieve a perfect ridge thanks to one or two MR sensors that continuously measure the amount of loose soil, ensuring the ridging hood receives the right amount of soil, as the working depth of the cultivator is optimally controlled. Erosion-Stop, available as an option, allows each shovel to be manually deactivated as desired. An additional advantage of the combination is that there are no longer wheels between the covering discs and the ridging hood, eliminating the risk of getting stuck in the cultivated soil and preventing soil compaction. 

Exceptionally user-friendly

Operation of the Certa 40 Integral is as easy as that of the Enduro, for example. Controls work via ISOBUS as standard, with a 12" Topcon touchscreen and joystick available as accessories. The planter features an exceptionally user-friendly interface, as you would expect from a Dewulf machine.