Excellence in Maize

John Deere 9500i forage harvester in DLG test

With the 9500i, John Deere rounds off the bottom end of the 9000 forage harvester series. The DLG experts at the DLG Test Center tested its performance in silage maize in the 2023 model year version.

 

With the 9000 series, John Deere has set itself the goal of combining high performance and efficiency with low harvesting costs in its self-propelled forage harvesters. The 9500i model with 563 kW/765 hp represents the entry into the series and rounds it off at the bottom. In a DLG test conducted during the 2023 harvest season, the DLG test engineers scrutinized the model in terms of function and work quality in silage maize.

Throughput, consumption and chopping quality

In a typical DLG performance test in maize, a forage harvester has to prove its efficiency in a field test. The specific fuel consumption per tonne of crop, which is determined by measuring the throughput and fuel consumption, serves as an indicator of a machine's efficiency. To determine the quality of work, defined samples are taken from the crop flow directly behind the discharge manifold in all test variants. The evaluation includes several criteria derived from practical experience, which are determined with three different chop length settings on two areas with maize of different dry matter content levels. The chop length was set to 4 mm, 7 mm and 12 mm, and the dry matter (DM) of the harvested crop on the two test fields was 27 to 32 % DM and 37 to 43 % DM respectively.) Representative subsamples are then taken from the samples taken in this way for dry matter determination, chop length analysis and analysis of the degree of grain processing.

The exact determination of the DM content is carried out after the field trials using the drying oven method; alternatively, DLG-approved NIR sensors can also be used to quickly determine the DM level in the field.

The chop length analysis is carried out by sieving with the DLG cascade sieve, whereby an important criterion is that the fines content, i.e. the sieve fraction smaller than 3 mm, must not exceed 3 % of the total sample. The CSPS index (Corn Silage Processing Score according to the USDA Forage Research Center) is used as a measure of the quality of grain processing, with an index value above 70 % being defined as very good and below 50 % as inadequate.

John Deere 9500i

The 2023 model year machine presented for testing is powered by the new JD18X engine with six cylinders and 18 liters of displacement, which in the 563 kW/765 hp version meets the Euro V emissions standard without the addition of AdBlue. The 12-row Kemper 490plus header with a working width of 9 meters and six large feed drums was used in the DLG test. Four pre-compression rollers transport the crop via an 830 mm wide intake channel to the knife drum with 64 knives, which can theoretically achieve chop lengths of between three and 14 mm. The John Deere Premium High Intense 110/144 grain processor was set to 40% speed difference and a gap of 2 mm.

Engine picture
Figure 1: John Deere 18X engine with 18.0 l displacement
Picture of the grain processor
Figure 2: John Deere Premium High Intense 110/144 grain processor was set to 2 mm gap width.
Figure of the specific fuel consumption
Figure 3: Specific fuel consumption in l/t FM

Examination and results

In the test, the John Deere forage harvester was able to demonstrate its high performance potential. It achieved throughputs of up to 270 tons of fresh mass per hour - and this from a theoretical chop length of 7 mm. As expected, the throughput drops to 225 tons of fresh mass per hour at a theoretical chopping length of 4 mm. The fuel consumption per hour of operation was approximately the same across all preset chopping lengths in the range of 130 - 132 l/h. As throughput increases, specific fuel consumption decreases and reaches a very low level overall with values between 0.58 liters per ton of fresh mass (at 4 mm chop length) and 0.49 liters (at 12 mm chop length) per ton of harvested mass.

As the picture shows, the influence of the chop length preselection on the forage harvester on the chop length distribution in the crop is clearly visible. The changes to the settings on the forage harvester result in significant shifts in the weight proportions of the different sieve fractions in the desired direction. Regardless of the dry matter content, the proportions in the sieve fractions > 19 mm and > 33 mm are at a low level (0.0 % to 2.2 %). With regard to the degree of grain conditioning, the John Deere 9500i was able to achieve very good degrees of grain conditioning at preselected chop lengths of 4 mm and 7 mm with values above and close to 70 % in the lower dry matter content position, and grain conditioning was also rated as “good” at 12 mm chop length and in all tests carried out in the higher dry matter content position.

Figure of the chop length distribution
Figure 4: Chop length distribution in the higher dry matter content range (37.0-49.5 % DM) with installed 110/144 grain processor (40 % speed difference)

Summary

Based on the available results, the John Deere 9500 i self-propelled forage harvester (with the tested equipment) is awarded the “DLG-ANERKANNT” test mark in the individual criterion “Function and quality of work in silage maize”. Further details on the test can be found in test report 7436, which is available free of charge at www.DLG-Test.com.