It was way back in 1969 when the first Amazone sprayer made its market debut. Designated the S range, those original 400- and 600-litre mounted sprayers started a journey towards the comprehensive Amazone sprayer programme that exists today.
That range includes UF mounted sprayers from 900 to 2,000 litres (plus front tanks for up to a 3,500 litre wraparound combination); UG and UX trailed sprayers from 2,200 litres through to 11,200 litres, including the new UX 01-L in 8,000 and 9,000 litre tank capacities, plus, of course, the flagship self-propelled, the all-new Pantera 4504.
It’s one of these latter models that’s has just been delivered as the 75,000th Amazone sprayer to leave the factory. The UK-based buyer was Robert Davidson & Son, which has been farming in Essex since the 1920s.
The firm currently farms about 1,350ha with a mix of cropping that includes continuous winter wheat on the home farm plus some marrowfat peas and increasingly crops for energy, with rye on the lighter land and then maize grown for both foraging as well as for the combine. On top of this area, another 800ha to 1,200ha of maize and rye is foraged for neighbours as well.
The new Pantera 4504 at Robert Davidson & Son replaces a Pantera 4502 bought seven years ago that leaves with 5,000 hours on the clock.
“We’re delighted to take delivery of such an iconic machine,” Robert Davidson said. “The out-going model has done sterling service and, although we looked at what else was on the market, its narrow road width, 50km/hr road speed and improved suspension makes it ideal for our further away contract farms. The service support from Amazone and local dealer RW Crawford also contributed to our continuation with the brand.”
While the Pantera 5402 had a 40m boom, the new 5404 has the 36m option, a decision that stems from the increasing acreage of maize grown on 75cm rows. The sprayer has the 25cm nozzle spacing option and is able to automatically choose the most appropriate nozzle above the plant and help optimise fertiliser application rates.
The new ContourControl boom height guidance system, meanwhile, keeps the boom on track above crop and automatically recognises the nozzle spacing and thus the nozzle spray pattern selected and the height above crop that is required. The addition of SwingStop horizontal boom movement control, with its built-in acceleration sensors, means that the turn speed of each nozzle along the boom is known and then the latest AmaSelect software automatically selects the best nozzle size, or nozzle combination, to make sure that the sprayer applies the same rate along the full boom width even when driving around curves.
With the farm’s increasing maize acreage, the good underbelly clearance along with the on-the-move, hydraulic track width adjustment again make the Pantera 4504 ideal for spraying those tall row crops at the wider row spacings.
Sprayer production for the Amazone group is now concentrated at a new, purpose-built assembly facility at Bramsche. Here, all under the one roof, the complete sprayer programme is put together and wet tested ahead of delivery. This new 20ha site will ensure that there’s room for growth when it comes to sprayer numbers.
