The Harrington Seed Destructor (iHSD)

The Harrington Seed Destructor (iHSD) is a means to control weed seeds by way of mechanical impact trauma to the seed.

The Harrington Seed Destructor is integrated directly into the chaff stream of a combine harvester providing harvest time weed control and prevents the vast majority of weed seeds from entering the soil seed bank.

The Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative (AHRI) has determined that the iHSD destroys up to 99% of targeted weed species that enter them. 

The iHSD has major advantages over many traditional weed control methods.

“Destroy up to 99% of targeted weed species while you harvest”

Harrington Seed Destructor - Mechanical Direct Drive Mill

Harrington Seed Destructor - Mechanical Direct Drive Mill

iHSD - Mechanical Direct Drive Mill

  • 2x mechanically driven vertical cage mills are retro-fitted to the rear of the combine
  • Weed seeds are severely impacted by the mills, until they are no longer viable
  • Chaff and inert weed seeds are spread over the paddock as powder

Location

Mounted on the rear of the combine, behind the sieves

Power Plant

Mechanically driven

Operating load

Untested: ~60-80 HP @ 3100 RPM mill speed

Mill Speed

3100 RPM

Control System

Integrated speed sensor that is activated when the separator is put into gear

Camera

2x Integrated industrial cameras located at drive and above mills

Diesel Use

~ 0.9 Litre p/hectare, (comparing a John Deere S680 combine with/without an iHSD)

Bearings

2x Greasable heavy duty bearings, rated to 4500 RPM

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Harrington Seed Destructor - Mechanical Direct Drive Mill Features

  • DESTROYS up to 99% of targeted weed seeds as you harvest (AHRI/Uni SA)
  • IMPROVES future weed control, reduces herbicide resistant weeds
  • ELIMINATES burning with nothing to do after harvest
  • EASY GRAIN LOSS CHECKS with rear hatch access
  • SIMPLE IHSD BYPASS for windrowing and/or harvesting without iHSD
  • ONE PASS PROCESSING, no chaff carts, no windrows
  • BUILT-IN STONE TRAP reduces foreign objects entering the mills
  • SPACE TO REMOVE SIEVES without removing iHSD (excluding John Deere 1 piece sieves)
  • TESTED & PROVEN ability to handle high capacities & Australian harvests
  • AUSTRALIAN designed & built after 20 years of development
  • BACKED UP with service & support from a national dealer network

IHSD Instructional Video

Watch: A description of how the iHSD is built and how it works.

 

Watch: Stone Trap - a piece of mind and easy inspections

 

Watch: How to perform daily pre-harvest inspections

 

 

 

 

 

Harrington Seed Destructor History

Harrington Seed Destructor History

iHSD DEVELOPMENT

The Harrington Seed Destructor is the culmination of 20 years of development that started with an idea from WA farmer; Ray Harrington.

Ray knew that Australian farmers were fighting a war to eradicate weeds in their cash crops. From the 1970s the introduction of cheap, highly effective herbicides has been the farmer’s main defence against weed infestation, but over the course of time through natural selection, herbicide resistant strains of weeds have become a critical issue in many areas of Australia across all staple crop varieties.

 

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Harrington Seed Destructor History Features

Ray’s idea was brilliantly simple - what if there was a way to reliably destroy weed seeds mechanically during the harvest process? Enter iHSD technology: the chaff stream from a combine harvester is intercepted and fed directly into a high speed mill that pulverises the chaff, including weed seeds that would otherwise pass through the harvester and be returned to the field.

Enter the Australian Grains Research and Development Council (GRDC), who understood the importance of Ray’s idea and provided funding and UniSA provided research and development expertise to further develop iHSD technology.

In 2016 the first integrated Harrington Seed Destructor was tested on Australian soil- with great success, where up to 99% of weed seeds were pulvarised until no longer viable.

Two Hydraulically driven mills were retrofitted onto the rear of a harvester. This has since been further developed to a mechanical direct drive system.

iHSD Independant Research

 

Whether you have a horizontal iHSD impact mill or are looking to get into this technology with the newly-released vertical configuration, you can rest assured that the kill rate of both configurations has been independently proven to be 98 per cent for annual ryegrass.

Dr Michael Walsh, Director Weed Research, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney has been testing the efficacy of impact mills on weed seeds since the early days of development of the Harrington Seed Destructors.

“The vertical configuration of the iHSD mills changes the direction of the chaff flow into and out of the mills and this can affect the processing of the chaff and potentially the efficacy of weed seed destruction,” he says.

“Having previously shown that the horizontal iHSD impact mill can achieve at least 98 per cent weed seed kill, we were keen to repeat the test for the vertical mill configuration.”

During the 2018 harvest, a wheat crop at Broomehill was used to test the vertical mill. Twelve 20 m strips were marked out in the wheat crop where there was no annual ryegrass present. These plots were used to test the efficacy of the vertical mill at three different harvester speeds – 4, 6 and 8 km/hr.

“The result of this testing was a weed seed kill rate of at least 98 per cent for the vertical iHSD impact mill, regardless of the harvester operating speed of 4, 6 or 8 km/hr,” says Dr Walsh. “This level of weed seed destruction is equivalent to that of the horizontally mounted mills that we have tested previously.”

 

WATCH: iHSD: A Glimpse of the Future (WeedSmart Webinar: Emerging Trends with Technology and Weeds) Read more here.

WATCH: Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative (AHRI): The iHSD (integrated Harrington Seed Destructor) has arrived. Read more here.

WATCH: ABC Landline talks to inventor, Ray Harrington, as overseas interest in the IHSD picks up.

iHSD Dealer
Find your local distributor

 

Western Australia

McIntosh & Son Albany

Unit 2/191 Chester Pass Rd
Albany WA, 6330
Phone: (08) 9847 4255
Website: View
Email: Contact Dealer

Directions

McIntosh & Son Esperance

64 Norseman Road
Esperance WA, 6450
Phone: (08) 9071 1155
Website: View
Email: Contact Dealer

Directions

McIntosh & Son Geraldton

160 Flores Road
Geraldton WA, 6531
Phone: (08) 9960 5500
Website: View
Email: Contact Dealer

Directions

McIntosh & Son Katanning

Lot 4 Nyabing Road
Katanning WA, 6317
Phone: (08) 9821 7000
Website: View
Email: Contact Dealer

Directions

McIntosh & Son Kulin

294 Pump Road
Kulin WA, 6365
Phone: (08) 9880 2556
Website: View
Email: Contact Dealer

Directions

McIntosh & Son Merredin

52 Mitchell Street
Merredin WA, 6415
Phone: (08) 9041 1099
Website: View
Email: Contact Dealer

Directions

McIntosh & Son Moora

125 Gardiner Street
Moora WA, 6510
Phone: (08) 9651 1488
Website: View
Email: Contact Dealer

Directions

McIntosh & Son Wongan Hills

178 Wongan Road
Wongan Hills WA, 6603
Phone: (08) 9671 1300
Website: View
Email: Contact Dealer

Directions

Purcher International

99 Flores Rd
Geraldton WA, 6530
Phone: (08) 9921 2166
Website: View
Email: Contact Dealer

Directions

McIntosh & Son Narrogin

Lot 24 Stewart St
Narrogin WA, 6312
Phone: (08) 9881 2222
Website: View
Email: Contact Dealer

Directions

McIntosh & Son Cunderdin

1 Main Road
Cunderdin WA, 6407
Phone: (08) 9635 1003
Website: View
Email: Contact Dealer

Directions

McIntosh & Son Albany

Unit 2/191 Chester Pass Rd
Albany WA 6330

Phone: (08) 9847 4255
Fax:

McIntosh & Son Esperance

64 Norseman Road
Esperance WA 6450

Phone: (08) 9071 1155
Fax: (08) 9071 3799

McIntosh & Son Geraldton

160 Flores Road
Geraldton WA 6531

Phone: (08) 9960 5500
Fax:

McIntosh & Son Katanning

Lot 4 Nyabing Road
Katanning WA 6317

Phone: (08) 9821 7000
Fax:

McIntosh & Son Kulin

294 Pump Road
Kulin WA 6365

Phone: (08) 9880 2556
Fax:

McIntosh & Son Merredin

52 Mitchell Street
Merredin WA 6415

Phone: (08) 9041 1099
Fax: (08) 9041 1466

McIntosh & Son Moora

125 Gardiner Street
Moora WA 6510

Phone: (08) 9651 1488
Fax:

McIntosh & Son Wongan Hills

178 Wongan Road
Wongan Hills WA 6603

Phone: (08) 9671 1300
Fax:

Purcher International

99 Flores Rd
Geraldton WA 6530

Phone: (08) 9921 2166
Fax:

McIntosh & Son Narrogin

Lot 24 Stewart St
Narrogin WA 6312

Phone: (08) 9881 2222
Fax:

McIntosh & Son Cunderdin

1 Main Road
Cunderdin WA 6407

Phone: (08) 9635 1003
Fax: