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Agricultural machinery
Rapid tests the boundaries in Saudi Arabia

Desert tillage puts machines to the test . ‘Many hours of driving every day in heat and damp sand are a tough test for machine durability. Rapid has proven its worth and can now be found on many of the largest farms in Saudi Arabia'.

So says Jan Henriksson, Head of Service at Väderstadverken, who has been visiting the country to get an idea of the tillage conditions. The sandy soils (60-70% sand) and hot climate expose machinery to extreme wear.
‘But with regular maintenance, Rapid drills can survive for a long time even under these tough conditions. The oldest Rapid in Saudi has been working for 10 years and is still doing an excellent job’, says Jan.

© Väderstad
Nadec Hail. One of the farm's two RDA 800S on the headland by the irrigation booms. Each year, 15,000 ha are drilled. Seedbed preparation is carried out by two Carriers.

4-5000 ha per machine and year

Nadec Hail is one of the largest farms in Saudi Arabia, with an area of around 15,000 ha divided into 9000 ha wheat, 3000 ha maize and 3000 ha lucerne.

‘The crops are established with the help of two 8-m Rapid AS and three Carrier 820. To save time they want to direct drill as often as possible and for that, Rapid has proven to be better than other drills’, says Jan.

Another efficient concept is to make one pass with Carrier, followed by Rapid. The average work rate is 4-5000 ha per year and machine.
‘The main reason they can cover so many hectares in a given time is the consistent weather – they are never forced to stop because of rain’, explains Jan.

The boundary between the irrigated field and the desert is sharp as a knife.

Water most expensive

In Saudi Arabian agriculture water is the most expensive production cost. Fossil water from 2-300 metres depth is pumped up by diesel engines.

The only reason this is economically possible is the low cost of fuel – petrol costs 2 SEK/l (0.22 EURO/l) and diesel 0.70 SEK/l (0.08 EURO/l).

Irrigation water is applied by irrigation booms with a diameter of up to 500 metres, which circulate non-stop. This results in circular fields of 50-100 ha that are constantly damp. Plant nutrients and crop protection chemicals are also applied via the irrigation system.
‘It is extremely important that the fields are level so that puddles do not form on the surface. Carrier does a good job in achieving this’, says Jan.

Straw is removed after harvest in April but the stubble is left standing throughout the intensely hot summer. Drilling takes place in December, either directly into the stubble or after a pass with Carrier.

© Väderstad
Refilling of the Rapid on Nadec Hail, which is one of the largest farms in Saudi Arabia
The farm manager is very pleased with the flexibility of the machine and calls it ‘the shining star among all drills’

Crop growing during winter

The growing season is relatively short, with drilling in the beginning of December (grass is sown as early as August) and harvest in May. During that period, the temperature ranges from -4°C to +20°C but later it soars to +50–60°C and cropping is suspended until the weather becomes cooler once more. The crops grown are mainly wheat, maize and the feed crops lucerne and sorghum. Wheat yields are around 4-5 ton/ha.

The glittering star among drills
In recent years, a number of 4-metre Rapids have been sold to farms of 500-1500 ha. Jan and his Saudi colleagues visited the farm Munifa, which grows wheat, maize and lucerne on 1100 ha. Wheat and lucerne are drilled with a 4-metre Rapid.

‘They were very pleased with the outcome and explained that they save a lot of money when they drill lucerne. They have been able to decrease the seed rate from 55 to 30 kg/ha while improving crop establishment at the same time.
The company Tadco in Tabuk also has a satisfied farm manager. This farm has three 8-metre Rapids.
‘They are really pleased with the versatility of the machines and call Rapid the shining star among all drills’.