Kinze Manufacturing, Inc. unveiled its new Kinze 4900 planter series today during a launch event at their world headquarters.

With a new narrow transport front-fold frame design, 30” row spacing, and a choice of 12, 16, or 24 rows, the Kinze 4900 planter offers many significant new features that contribute to productivity and precision during the planting season.

“We conducted extensive research with farmers and engineered a new design, which provides superior agronomic performance. We designed a new, front folding tool bar, engineered a state of the art vacuum meter with optional electric drive and created a cast iron row unit with more vertical travel,” says Rhett Schildroth, product manager for Kinze.

The new patent-pending seed meter offers 99%+ accuracy at speeds from 2 to 8 mph. The meter is available with contact drive, hydraulic drive, and – new with the 4900 planter – electric drive (also patent pending). Rugged, high torque 24V motors allow for precise seed rate control by row. This means farmers will get consistent seed spacing from the inside row to the outside row – even on tight radius turns and contours. Electric drive means there are no chains, clutches, gearboxes or shafts to maintain.

The new planter frame has 42 degrees of wing flex (21 degrees up, 21 degrees down) to offer superior ground contact on rolling terrain and terraces. With the new bulk fill tank design, the 16- and 24-row planters offer 120-bushel capacity while the 12-row offers 90-bushel capacity.

Further, the planter frame incorporates hydraulic weight transfer, a Kinze-exclusive feature. This minimizes potential compaction and ensures that the row units provide a consistent seed depth while moving across the field, even on the roughest terrain. Additionally, with up to 120 bushels of seed and 500 gallons of liquid fertilizer capacity, the 4900 planter allows farmers to continue planting for long periods of time without having to stop and refill.

Maneuverability is critical, so Kinze engineers incorporated an industry exclusive flip-axle option (patent pending) for the 24-row planter to significantly reduce hitch weight and make it easy to move in and out of fields. The flip axle hydraulically swings forward for transport, reducing the hitch to axle distance by nearly 5 feet for a tighter turning radius and reduced hitch weight. The toolbar has been raised to provide higher in-field clearance and to improve residue flow.

The brand new row unit has a rugged cast iron design, providing the necessary stiffness for perfect seed placement, even in today’s toughest no-till fields. In addition, row unit vertical travel has been increased to 12,” keeping all row units in the ground on steep slopes and terraces.

The Kinze 4900 series planters will be available for orders in May 2013 for use during the 2014 planting season. The 4900 series planter can be used for corn, soybeans, sugar beets, sunflowers and milo when planted on 30” rows.  Farmers can select from a variety of technology and accessory options to fit their needs. Additionally, all 4900 models feature ISOBUS compatible electronics.

For more information farmers can contact their Kinze dealer or visit http://www.Kinze.com.