The heart of the cup planter

When it comes to planting, the main concerns are often accuracy and speed, which undoubtedly makes Dewulf's potato planters the best choice. Dewulf offers two types: the belt planter and the cup planter. In this blog, we will be discussing the latter! 

Simpler, more efficient and more accurate 

High planting capacity, low maintenance costs and a very easy to use control system, all in one machine, enable any grower to work more efficiently. You save labour, machines and fuel. The most precise cup planter on the market! 

• Simpler: Thanks to the user-friendly control terminal, planting with the CP is a very pleasant experience. The GPS integration maps your field and automatically ensures precise positioning. 
• More accurate: The innovative Precision-Planting system ensures perfect placement of the seed potatoes: consistent spacing, at the correct depth and in a single line in the middle of the baulk. 
• More efficient: The CP combines multiple processes – cultivating, planting and ridging – in a single working pass. Unparalleled performance achieved through modularity.

Dewulf cup planters are available in trailed or mounted versions, with 2, 4, 6 or 8 rows (as well as a Farmer version for the CP 22 and Xtreme versions for the CP 42, CP 62 and CP 82). 

Planting with the highest possible precision

The design of the CP cup planter's innovative planting element was directly influenced by user input during development. 

The CP cup planter has a unique, parabolic tube specially designed to plant the potato as accurately and reliably as possible. This works hand in hand with the specially shaped cups, combined with the vibrators, to ensure accurate singling of the potatoes while preventing misses. The potato-friendly cups are also angled forward at 8 degrees in the upward section, which helps ensure excellent pick-up. Moreover, various cups can be fitted to match the size of your seed potatoes. 

The Eagle-Eye system – optical miss detection – monitors the planting process closely and provides the information you need for even cultivation and high yield. The small bottom roller ensures the potato falls in a straight line to the centre of the seedbed. In combination with having the covering discs positioned close to the planting elements, this guarantees correct positioning of the tuber. 

Moving floor, cleaning brushes and furrow opener

The bottom of the planting element is fitted with a moving floor. This grid prevents the formation of bridges among the potatoes, providing a perfect flow of seed potatoes to the pick-up section of the planting element. This continuous supply of potatoes facilitates reliable singulation. Loose sprouts and soil are carried away before they can reach the planting tube. 

There are also cleaning brushes integrated into the planting tube. These enhance ease of use and improve the quality of the planting result. Moreover, they also prevent contamination of the cups and resulting damage to the seed potatoes. The cups are cleaned after each rotation. This eliminates the need to interrupt planting for tedious and time-consuming cleaning. 

Lastly, the CP cup planter also has a unique V-shaped furrow opener, fitted with a small chisel that makes a sharp furrow. The shape of the furrow opener also crumbles a little loose soil on top, which wedges the tuber in the furrow. The result? Precision placement of the tuber and an optimal start of the growing process. 

Ultimate ease of use 

The focal point during the development of the CP cup planters was ensuring ease of operation. The HMI (Human Machine Interface) ensures a highly enjoyable working experience. The system supports the driver and takes over many of the tasks, plus all the planting statistics are displayed on the screen. 

As counterpart to the HMI, you can also use ISOBUS in our cup planters. The ISOBUS system is manufacturer-independent and is therefore available via either the tractor's display or an additional display in the cabin. And if the tractor is not equipped with an ISOBUS system, a separate ISOBUS cable set and/or display can be ordered. 

Additional GPS-controlled display options for the tractor include licences for Section Control and Task Control. Task Control makes it possible to use task cards to configure which areas of the parcel fertiliser should be applied to or which planting distance should be used. 

Configuring the planting parcel can easily be done from the cabin. Optionally, through use of the Row-Stop option, spray tracks and headlands can be created automatically. With these features, the CP cup planters ensure that drivers can respond effectively to changing circumstances and efficiently adapt the planting settings to any situation. 

Additional options

As with any Dewulf Group machine, there are optional extras that can be added. 

1. Ferti-Flow: Ferti-Flow uses large stainless steel tanks and provides a high capacity. The fertiliser dispensing rate per hectare is infinitely adjustable. Granulate flows between large discs located 5 cm to the right and left of the tuber, ensuring the granulate never contacts the tuber. 
2. Spray line kit and/or granulate applicator: These allow you to equip your trailed cup planter for crop-specific use. 
3. GPS Planting-Comfort: GPS Planting-Comfort is ideal for parcels with gullies and corners. Based on the GPS data, our software controls all rows, individually or simultaneously, switching them on and off as the planter crosses into or out of the inner field. The system also handles the automatic creation of spray tracks effortlessly, ensuring efficient results with straight headland lines and no loss of seed potatoes. 
4. GPS Planting-Control: With GPS Planting-Control, variable application of plant protection products and fertiliser is handled mechanically and efficiently. It also makes location-specific planting possible. 

Clearly, then, Dewulf's CP cup planters are multifunctional potato planting machines that have proved their quality time and again in the field. The CP series combines high capacity, user-friendliness and precise placement accuracy, making it the paragon of potato-friendliness. Moreover, our cup planters are also superbly suited as a combination machine for soil cultivation, fertiliser spreading, planting, crop protection and ridging in a single working pass. Altogether, this results in an optimal start of the growing season for the potato and ensures a high crop yield! 

Are you ready to take your efficiency to the next level? Find out today what Dewulf can do for you.