Hollabrunn agricultural college adds precision combine for crop trials

The Agricultural College in Hollabrunn has put a new plot combine into service, allowing small research plots to be harvested more precisely, ORF reported. The machine will help improve tests of crop varieties and farming methods.

Agricultural colleges use plots of about 10 to 20 square metres to test varieties, crop protection products, fertilising strategies, new cultivation methods and water-saving soil management. To make results scientifically comparable, each plot must be harvested separately without mixing its crop with others.

Four agricultural colleges in Lower Austria, in Mistelbach, Obersiebenbrunn, Hollabrunn and Edelhof, currently use seven plot combines. Some have been in service for about 20 years. Two new machines have been bought for the colleges in Hollabrunn and Edelhof, at a combined cost of about 600,000 euros. The Hollabrunn machine is also intended for use at other colleges.

The new machines digitally record the weight and moisture content of grain from each plot and calculate the results statistically. This helps determine which varieties or farming methods produce higher yields, cope better with drought or are more resistant to disease.

Franz Ecker, head of operations at the Hollabrunn college, said the machine would allow research plots to be harvested quickly, precisely and with fewer staff, providing a reliable basis for trials.