A long-time staple of Antonio Carraro’s offering, the versatile SRX range is growing in popularity with Australian growers needing a horticulture tractor for tight spaces
Antonio Carraro’s philosophy has always been to provide solutions to unique challenges faced by farmers.
The Italian manufacturer’s tractors might not be the enormous broadacre beasts aiming to tackle jobs requiring several hundred horsepower, but that is not what they are claiming to be.
Instead, the tractors are focused on the needs of its core market – the horticulture sector – where space is tight and every centimetre counts.
Antonio Carraro’s tractors meet these needs in several ways – by being low enough to fit under branches and narrow enough to fit in between tight rows.
It is this latter factor for which the SRX range of tractors is known, and which Antonio Carraro Australia’s national sales manager Marco Corra says is becoming increasingly popular.
“There are more and more vineyards that are planting narrower rows around that 1.2m distance, particularly in Western Australia as well as in Victoria,” he says.
“When people are adding new lines and new vines into their already-set-up vineyards, they tend to do it as narrow as possible, while allowing the machines to still go through.
“We want to let people know that they can really push their rows as much as 1.2m because the machine is only 1.1m wide.”
There are two main models in Antonio Carraro’s SRX range, the 90hp SRX9800, and the 110hp SRX8900.
While it has evolved over time, the SRX range has been part of Antonio Carraro’s offering for over 60 years.
The larger of the SRX tractors also offers a pressurised cabin for operators which features air-conditioning and sound buffering, but which also remains low enough to be ideal for farmers in horticulture environments.
While the SRX range is designed to be compact and operate in tight spaces, it is certainly not undersized in terms of power or capability.
In addition to the 90hp and 110hp outputs, both tractors have a PTO shaft and 2,400kg lift capacity, meaning they can be used with a variety of attachments.
It is in its attachment capabilities that one of Antonio Carraro’s most unique features comes into its own.
The tractors are reversible, meaning a quick rotation of the turret which houses the driving system allows operators to operate the SRX in the opposite direction – effectively turning a rear implement into a front one and increasing both versatility and visibility.
This feature, Corra believes, contributes to an important part of the winemaking process and ensures the best quality product – something both farmers and consumers can surely agree upon the importance of.
“Even just when it comes to pruning or de-leafing, you can do the job according to each tree rather than just setting the bar at a certain height and cutting each tree the same,” Corra says.
“The fact you have the reversibility on the tractor means you can adjust your attachment according to the need of each plant rather than each row.
“That benefits the grapes that you’re going to pick from that particular tree and then the wine. It’s all the domino effect of making the best wine really.”
Beyond just winemakers, the SRX is also popular with growers of berries such as blackberries and blueberries.
This is because of the fragility these particular fruits have, Corra says, and their tendency to fall off the tree as soon as they are touched by any machine.
The tractors have an oscillating chassis of 15 degrees, thanks to the manufacturer’s patented Actio, which increases stability and traction.
In addition to offering the Actio, the SRX range has articulation in the centre of the tractor, which removes the need for front steering wheels and therefore pushes the front wheels closer to the bonnet, thus achieving the narrowest of tractors.
This helps to create a tight turning circle and can be a gamechanger for farmers with only narrow distances at the end of the row to manoeuvre into the next row.
The SRX being articulated means operators can rely on the rear wheels following the path set by the front wheels.
Corra contrasts this setup with that of a car, where the fixed axle creates a different dynamic when turning.
“With a car, for example, where you are fixed and the chassis doesn’t bend in the centre, the rear wheels don’t follow the front wheels and they actually cut the corner a little bit when you turn,” he says.
“With the articulated tractor, you’re following the exact same passage that your front wheels are, so it becomes as a peace of mind that if you are out of the row with your front wheels, you are 100 per cent sure that you’re not going to knock down any tree.
“You’re not going to touch anything, and you don’t have to steer wider to make the turn. This is a major benefit of the SRX and part of the reason why it is so popular.”
The SRX range – along with all Antonio Carraro tractors – can be viewed online at www.antoniocarraro.it/au