Ronald's Sales and Service will introduce an automatic vegetable plant transplanter prototype, and Market Farm Implement will introduce a new seed planter that can plant any size seed.

The RTMA1100 (prototype) should be capable of transplanting at least 15,000 plants per hour in a three-row version, says Frank Faulrling, the machine's designer and engineer.

"It looks like the system will exceed all design specifications and be much simpler and more efficient than expected," says Faulrling.

The Posi-flow planting system currently used by many top producers and a new air prune tray, which has the potential to produce better quality plants, have attributed to the development of the automatic transplanter. Field trials in 2001 yielded 95 percent accuracy with most of the errors coming from skips in the trays.

Simplicity of design is a key component. One centralized indexing feeder can supply from one to 10 lines of plants, greatly reducing the number of moving parts in the feeder system. The production is geared for the production of millions of plants planted per week.

The first commercial application test for the automatic transplanter will be conducted in September, with a production model ready for market by next year.

The MaterMacc Precision Vacuum Seeder also will be demonstrated at the Expo. This is the most versatile seed planter available, offering the latest in patented vacuum seeding technology. The unique planter can singulate all sizes of vegetable seed from the smallest raw carrot and lettuce to a large lima bean. It can be fitted with an optional easy-set toolbar system that allows the farmer to quickly change the row spacing from 15-inch rows and up in one- quarter-inch increments with the standard depth gauge wheels.

Planters can also be quickly added or removed to change the number of rows being planted.

The Sunbelt Expo site is located at Spence Field, 4 miles southeast of U.S. Highway 319 on Highway 133 near Moultrie, Ga. Exposition hours are from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, and from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Thursday. Admission is $5 per day, per person.

For more information, visit www.sunbeltexpo.com or e-mail info@sunbeltexpo.com.

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