Can Kverneland’s Helios rotary hoe tackle blackgrass?

John Breider Mechanisatie demonstrates the Kverneland Helios rotary hoe in Meedhuizen, targeting blackgrass in winter wheat on heavy clay soils. – Photos: Anne van der Woude

This spring, Kverneland tested its Helios rotary hoe on heavy clay soils in the Dutch province of Groningen – the country’s grain heartland – to see if it could effectively combat stubborn blackgrass in winter wheat.

Blackgrass is an increasing problem for growers, who are actively seeking non-chemical solutions to keep it under control. In 2023, machinery manufacturer Kverneland acquired the French hoe specialist BC Technique, adding not only hoes but also rotary hoes to its portfolio.

Last year, Kverneland already gained some experience in the Netherlands with the Helios rotary hoe, mainly for crust breaking and general weed control. This spring, the company put the machine to the test specifically against blackgrass. On a plot of heavy clay soil in Meedhuizen (Groningen), the rotary hoe managed to uproot roughly half of the blackgrass plants.

The blackgrass is at a stage where it closely resembles wheat, yet the Helios shows reasonable selectivity: most wheat remains intact while many blackgrass plants are uprooted.

The blackgrass was at a growth stage where it closely resembled the wheat, making selective control challenging. Yet, the Helios rotary hoe proved reasonably selective. Most wheat plants remained undisturbed while a significant portion of the blackgrass was effectively uprooted.

6-metre working width and high speeds

Kverneland combines the Helios rotary hoe with a single row of spring tines, similar to those on a tine harrow. The machine has a working width of 6 metres and operates at around 12 km/h (7.5 mph), delivering substantial capacity in the field.

Each tine arm is mounted in a double-acting cylinder. All these cylinders are interconnected, allowing the arms to follow the contours of the ground in a ‘linked’ manner.

Each tine arm is mounted in a double-acting cylinder, all linked together to allow contour following.

Hydraulic down pressure on rotors

There are several manufacturers offering rotary hoes based on this principle. Kverneland, however, uses a hydraulic system to set the down pressure on the rotors. Each arm carries two star wheels mounted as a pendulum tandem.

The tractor hydraulics pressurise the cylinders. A gauge indicates the applied down pressure.

While the typical operating speed is around 12 km/h, depending on conditions and soil type it can be adjusted, but speeds above 10 km/h are generally common. The demo machine Kverneland used in this trial was 6 metres wide, but the company also offers Helios rotary hoes in working widths of 3, 4.8, and 6.4 metres.