Tree Planting Machinery

Bracke Planter on a Timberjack 1270 harv...

A Bracke planting machine mounted on a Timberjack harvester
base machine is being used to restock recently clear-felled sites
with new trees in the Forestry Commission’s woodlands of mid
Wales. Robur Maskin AB in Sweden manufactures the Bracke
Planter. It has a carousel which holds 72 container grown
seedlings, a hydraulically operated mounder, which forms a
compacted and raised mound and a compressed air-water
system, which propels the plants into the mound. The operator
and local forest staff have introduced some ingenious solutions
to overcome problems with plants sticking in the carousel and
have developed a system to speed up loading of the carousel.
Ground preparation . Restock site ground...

Ground preparation . Restock site ground...

Contractors in Scotland are usinganother Forestry Commission
Brake Planter mounted on an Akerman excavator base.

Territorial Mechanical Engineers or Workshop Managers can
providefurtherinformation on the Forestry Commission’s Bracke
planting machines, click here.

Pre-planting ground preparation

Most planting sites need cultivation before they can be replanted
with trees. There are various reasons for this and they depend
on the site conditions. The advantages of pre-planting cultivation
include reduced competition from weeds, improved drainage,
lessfrost damage and less insect damage. Bare earth heats up
quicker during the day and retains warmth better at night. Weevils, the main insect threat to newly planted trees, are less prevalent in cultivated ground. Most of the pre-planting cultivation is done by contractorswho use tracked excavators but Mechanical Engineering Services provides scarifying machines which are used in specific sites, mostly in England andWales. The Donaren disc trencher shown in the photograph is an example of these scarifying machines. This has two powered mattock wheels, which are raised and lowered as the machine moves forward. The mattock wheels clear the planting site of brash and vegetation and mix the surface humus layer with the mineral soil, which creates an ideal planting position for the trees.

The Territorial Mechanical Engineer for England and Wales or the Workshop Manager Gweithdy Cymru can provide further information on the Forestry Commission’s scarifying machines, click here.

Useful sites

Bracke

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