Dutch manufacturer Imants has introduced the Cultermatic cultivator, which employs a completely new process for the remediation of soil with damaging compaction deeper than 50cm.
Worldwide, the main problems with compaction can be easily summarised for the different climatic regions. In temperate regions, acidification and low-level soil compaction are problems, and in the semi-arid and arid zones the salinisation of soils is the main issue.
With up to 3,000ha of valuable land being lost to cultivation every day, particularly in poor countries situated in humid areas like South America and Central Africa, Imants says that apart from the Cultermatic, there’s no other large-scale mechanical soil treatment capable of remedying the problem.
Using the PTO-driven machine loosens the soil and relieves compaction using the principle of hammerhead lifting. This revitalises areas that could not previously be treated by increasing its water and fertiliser efficiency. This also helps prevents flooding and landslides, and also reduces the production of emissions of nitrous oxide from the soil and promotes the large-scale binding of carbon dioxide in the soil in the form of root mass.
This means that the development of the Imants Cultermatic has not only a direct impact on food production, but also on regional weather events and global climate change. The development of efficient technology to improve soils that have been degraded or even endangered by high soil compaction, is currently of great international importance and the Cultermatic is a highly successful way on combating it.
For more information visit: www.imants.com.
