Alliance VF tested with positive results

Yokohama Off-Highway Tires (YOHT) offers tire solutions for farmers and contractors, such as the Alliance 372 VF. Results of a recent scientific study in Denmark as well as customer feedback, show positive aspects of VF technology.

"We highly value and appreciate scientific input from independent parties such as SEGES Innovation in Denmark, and we indeed appreciate consistently positive results. Whilst scientific evaluations are an indispensable element of any tire development at YOHT and Alliance, receiving confirmation from the field that our products deliver as planned - or even better - is truly encouraging", highlights Angelo Noronha, President Europe at ?Yokohama Off-Highway Tires.

Scientific field trials with Alliance VF tires, were carried out at the  SEGES Innovation Research institute in Denmark. Henning Sjørslev Lyngvig, Senior Specialist, Agricultural Machinery Crops & Environment at SEGES accompanied and evaluated these trials. He outlines the experiment: "Conventional tires with an inflation pressure of 2.2-2.5 bar (tractor) and 3.0 bar (liquid manure spreader) were used in the 'conventional tire plots' whilst Alliance 372 VF on the tractor and Alliance 389 VF on the liquid manure spreader - both with an inflation pressure of 1.0 bar - were used in the 'VF tire plots'. Dimensions of conventional and VF tires were identical. "The low inflation pressure of the Alliance VF tires cut the track depth during the application of liquid manure in half - from 79 to 45mm. At the same time, wheel slip was reduced by 4.4 percent. When we measured soil density with a penetrometer, we were able to show lower soil compaction in the 'VF tire tracks' at a depth of 0 to 40 cm. This effect was even significant at a depth of 20 to 25cm", reported Henning Sjørslev Lyngvig.

According to these results, and as further proof of the positive effects, maize yields in the tracks on 'VF tire plots' exceeded those in the tracks on the 'conventional tire plots' significantly by about 12.9 harvest units per hectare, i.e. by about 10 percent. The conclusion of Henning Sjørslev Lyngvig: "In sum - and depending on the working width of the liquid manure spreader - the measured effects translate to measurable benefits for farmers in terms of yield increases between 1.5 and 2.2 percent per hectare, and calculated profit gains due to higher yields and reduced tire slippage in the 'VF tire plots' between 21.8 and 32 EUR per hectare. When farmers use these tires on a 100-hectare field, they will achieve savings of several thousand euros. Moreover, the experiment showed that VF tires reduced the wheel slip by 4,4 percent, and this will undoubtedly lead to additional fuel savings."

This Danish study further supports an earlier French study by IRSTEA (Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture) in 2020 on key characteristics of the Alliance 372 VF.

Holistic approach

Gerrit Vinkers, Customer Quality Improvement and Application Specialist at YOHT, adds the manufacturer's holistic approach to soil conservation that covers the entire tractor-trailer or tractor-implement combination: "The positive effects of tractor tires with VF technology that were developed and introduced by YOHT's Alliance brand in recent years are undisputed. And yet, in practice, they will be annihilated when tractors with VF tires are followed by trailers or implements with standard tires, featuring an inflation pressure of 2 to 4 bar in the field. If, however, the entire machinery combination is equipped with VF tires, involving tires like the Alliance A389 VF-IMP that is capable of inflation pressures down to 0.8 bar in the field, this will bring decisive benefits in terms of lower impacts on the soil - and resulting higher yields!"