Spring Cultivations: Reducing soil compaction with our VF Tyres range
Article written by Ascenso Tyres UK
At this time of year, farmers across the UK are getting ready to start spring cultivations, sowing and planting crops ready for the year ahead, but with many areas of the country still flooded or saturated from heavy and prolonged rain, many are finding soil too wet to work.
Avoiding Soil Compaction
It is beneficial for your soil’s long-term health to resist the urge to work the land when it is still wet. Whether you use a plough, disc harrow or tined cultivator, working wet land can badly compact soil, and the negative effects can last years.
Working wet soil will pack soil particles tightly, leaving less room for water and air to penetrate. Also making it more difficult for plant roots and cultivating equipment to move through the soil.
As well as making it difficult for plants to grow, compacted soils also tend to drain more slowly, in turn delaying the ability to work the soil after the next rainfall. Unfortunately, once compacted it will take many years to rebuild a healthy soil structure, so the best course of action is to prevent compaction in the first place.
Eventually when the soil dries enough to start work on the land your tractors and machinery will need to be equipped with the correct tyres.
VF Tyre Technology
As tractors being used for spring cultivation work are relatively large and heavy, there is a strong argument for fitting VF technology tyres.
To cause the least amount of damage to soil, the tyres on tractors and other machinery need to operate at low inflation pressures. VF technology allows low tyre pressures which creates a larger footprint to spread the load, greatly reducing soil compaction.
The pressure of VF tyres can be lowered by 40% compared to non-VF tyres, even when carrying the same load. This spreads the weight of the vehicle over a larger surface area and reduces soil compaction.
While the width may be very similar, the footprint is extended front to rear (in an oval shape), within the committed trackway of the tyre, therefore achieving a larger footprint.
VF technology also gives the ability to carry 40% more load than a non-VF tyre at the same pressure. This means you can travel at the same speed and same pressure as a non-VF tyre but with 40% more load.
Additionally, VF technology offers time and fuel savings. The more flexible construction of the tyre makes it possible to transition from field to road and vice versa without adjusting the pressure.
Our Ascenso VF range is expanding, and we will shortly be releasing our new VDR2000 range of VF tyres in the following sizes:
| Tyre Size | LI/SI | Pattern |
| VF 380/80R38 (NRO) | 167D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 380/85R46 (NRO) | 162 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 380/95R38 (NRO) | 159 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 420/85R34 (NRO) | 159 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 480/80R46 (NRO) | 177 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 480/95R50 (NRO) | 176 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 480/95R54 (NRO) | 180 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 540/65R30 (CFO) | 161 A8 | VDR 2000 |
| VF 540/65R30 (NRO) | 158 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 600/60R28 (NRO) | 160 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 600/60R30 (NRO) | 162 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 600/65R28 (NRO) | 163 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 600/65R28 (NRO) | 166 A8 | VDR 2000 |
| VF 600/70R30 (NRO) | 170 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 650/65R38 (NRO) | 180 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 650/65R42 (NRO) | 174 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 710/60R38 (NRO) | 174 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 710/60R42 (NRO) | 176 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 710/70R38 (CFO) | 183 A8 | VDR 2000 |
| VF 710/70R38 (NRO) | 181 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 710/70R42 (CFO) | 190 A8 | VDR 2000 |
| VF 710/70R42 (NRO) | 185 D | VDR 2000 |
| VF 800/70R38 (CFO) | 190 A8 | VDR 2000 |
| VF 800/70R38 (NRO) | 187 D | VDR 2000 |
Other VF tyres in the Ascenso range include:
Ascenso VDR 900
Ascenso VRD 901
Ascenso VIR 2500
Self-Cleaning Properties
As well as choosing the correct tyres and inflating them correctly to operate at low ground pressure, for tractor tyres to perform efficiently in wet conditions the tyres must have good self-cleaning properties.
While other tyre manufacturers do offer self-cleaning properties, the unique and innovative design of our mud breaker and the dual mud breaker technology ensures even better self-cleaning and maximum traction.
During the process of movement, vertical cleats on the lugs behave like a lever to push the mud away and create an air channel to break the vacuum which helps with the tyres’ self-cleaning characteristics.
Many of the Ascenso range feature this unique mud breaker technology including tyres such as the TDR 650 and the XLR 880.
Both the TDR 650 and the XLR 880 tractor tyres are some of the first in the industry with the dual mud breakers which ensure the tyre has better self-cleaning properties. These tyres have an optimised tread design which offers greater traction and maximum performance in the field and in on-road operations.
The TDR 650 and XLR 880 also have a greater lug overlap which provides a safe and comfortable ride at even at high speeds.
Both tyres, as well as all our farm radial tyres, come with a 7-year warranty – one of the longest tyre warranties in the industry. Our impressive warranty also applies to our bias tyres which come with a 5-year warranty.
If you would like to find out more about our tyre range and unique Mud Breaker Technology, click below to view the full range.
View our full tyre range
