Scandinavian Forestry Equipment has begun marketing and offering a machine, the Plantma X, that automates the process of planting tree seedlings for reforestation. The base machine is an 8-wheel Eco Log 574E forwarder powered by a Volvo Penta engine.
Operating with bogie tracks, the Plantma X will – in one pass – cultivate the soil, compact it, and plant a seedling. It also will collect and store data of its operations. Under ideal conditions the Plantma X can plant over 40 seedlings per minute.
The Plantma X has the capacity to hold 10,000-20,000 seedlings, depending on the size of the seedlings and how they are packed.
It has been tested in Sweden as well as New Brunswick, Canada, and in the U.S., where it has been used to plant seedlings in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Alabama and in Texas and Florida. Plantma X can plant both containerized seedlings and bare root seedlings of Loblolly and Longleaf pine.
To view videos of the machine in operation, visit YouTube and enter Plantma in the search window.
For more information, visit the company website at www.scandforestry.com, email info@scandforestry.com, or call the company’s headquarters at (717) 793-3102.
