LICE CULTIVATOR: Fast mechanical cultivator reducing fuel and herbicide use

At the time of soil management for cultivation, herbicides have become one of the most significant advancements. Despite its useful side, herbicides are well known at the present to be enormously pollutant for soils and watercourses as well as crops. Nowadays, innovation on the field of undesired weeds removal is based on the search of less harmful methods as mechanical rotary herbicides or rotary cultivators that, at the same time, present some disadvantages: due to the discs shape they provoke compaction of the soil underneath causing floods and dewatering of lowers layers, as well as present a lot of resistance when moving due to their disc shape and materials, moved thanks to the engine power transmission shaft in a very slow and inefficiently way, provoking a big waste of fuel and associated GHG emissions. CAVALLERETTI, and Italian company from Ferrara, has invented a revolutionary system based on a patented and long-lasting cultivator discs, rollers cut and general design performing an efficient cultivation of the soil for planting bedding. LICE cultivator allows a fast work increasing the speed four times (from 5 kmts. to 20) saving the 30% of fuel, therefore decreasing the level of GHG emissions and saving money, preventing floods and avoiding the use of chemical herbicides and fertilisers as it turns the removed and chopped weeds in organic compost. LICE is expected to bring to the company in the 5 ys. after full commercialization a total accumulated turnover of €28M, with a profit of €8,7M, a R.O.I. of 4,8 and a positive impact regarding employment with 26 job creation. It has to be said that global tractor machinery market sales figure is forecast to reach 2,8 thousand tractor units by 2023 growing at a CAGR of around 5% accompanied with a big demand and exigence of a growing sector that needs more sustainable and efficient tools.