A SYSTEM that automatically compensates for wind speed when spreading fertiliser and a new mounted sprayer will provided the thrust of Amazone's presence at LAMMA.

With a 100-year history of making fertiliser spreaders, Amazone's new WindControl feature on its ZA-TS and ZG-TS mounted and trailed spreaders enable them to be used when it would normally be considered too windy to spread, said Amazone.

A spokesman for the company said: "It is not just a case of whether it is too windy or not to go spreading – the question is how wide are we spreading, what product is in the hopper, and which direction is the wind coming from, rather than just about the strength.

"Using an anemometer integrated into the spreader, the strength and direction of the wind are continually monitored and the spreader adjusted on each disc to compensate for any wind effect. The spreader knows which product is being spread and the width at which it is being spread to.

"WindControl and ArgusTwin then look after the decision making – when it exceeds what is possible to compensate for, the system tells the driver that they should stop spreading," he said.

Its other news spreader with state-of-the-art technology is its ZA-V Hydro, which has hydraulically-driven discs controlled for speed via the ISOBUS terminal, which maintains disc speed whether driving up hill or down dale and at tick-over engine speed.

Its GPS-activated section control gives up to 16 automatic part-width sections via a mixture of disc speed reduction and rate adjustment – border spreading can be done to either side at the press of a button in the cab.

The ZA-V Hydro is only available with the 200 Hz Profis weighing system and comes in hopper sizes from 1400 litres through to 4200 litres. Spreading width is up to 36m.

The trend towards increasing tank sizes for minimising refill times and wider booms for higher work rates, has led to a complete new design for Amazone's UF 2002 mounted sprayer.

With boom widths up to 30m and the option of either up to 11 part-width sections, or individual nozzle shut-off using the AmaSwitch electric nozzle control, the boom mast has been integrated into the new frame with improved slide bearings for exact boom height control.

The DistanceControl plus automatic height control, with its mix of tilt sensors, potentiometers and ultra-sound sensors, is brought over from the existing smaller models and operates at speeds of up to 20 km/h.

Despite being so close-coupled, the sprayer is easy to hitch up using integrated Cat II/III balls in the lower link sockets. A hooked top link leaves ample room to get the pto and hydraulic pipes connected first, before a quick attach system pulls the sprayer onto the tractor, with the parking legs released into their working position by the pull of a catch which then locks the quick attach system.

The sprayer has a flush-fronted 2120-litre spray tank and grey 350-litre fresh water tank, with an easy-fill induction bowl set up.

The performance of the associated FT1001 front tank has also been improved, with faster transfer rates and a system that automatically fills, mixes and transfers the contents of the front tank back and forth where necessary to ensure a homogenous mix and optimum weight distribution between front and back axle.