Log Max Forestry recently took the opportunity during a recent demonstration of the PlantMax mechanized seedling planting machine in Amos, Quebec, to invite representatives of the forest industry, government officials and the media to a live demonstration.

Carl Tingley, manager of Log Max Forestry, based in Moncton, New Brunswick, declared the live demonstration a success, adding that the PlantMax was scheduled to be operated in the Abitibi-Temiskaming region for the summer tree planting season.

The tree seedling planting machine was developed in Sweden by Plantma Forestry, and the prototype was called the Plantma X. Serial production of the machine began in 2022 and it carries the moniker PlantMax. Some eight machines have been sold, and are now operating in various forest regions around the world.

The support team for the Quebec demo included Plantma AB staff Simon Eurenius and Markus Pettersson, along with Log Max Forestry manager Carl Tingley, sales rep Matthew MacGillivray and Francis Nadeau—with Dominic St-Amand and Ryan Hunter providing technical support.

The mechanized planting machine is being seen as a solution to the challenge of securing labour for manual tree planting.

The PlantMax tree planter is designed to be mounted on a conventional forwarder with at least 268 hp. It consists of a rear facing cab, with seedlings in racks behind the rear facing operator, with two hydraulically operated planting arms which articulate from the back of the cab.

The PlantMax being demo’ed by Log Max Forestry was mounted on a 14-tonne, double-bogie EcoLog 574E forwarder. Tingley pointed out that while 268 hp is a minimum, more than 300 hp is a definite asset for operating the PlantMax in challenging terrain. He added that while theoretically a six-wheeled forwarder can handle the PlantMax, a double bogie offers far greater comfort and traction in tough terrain. Again, he pointed out that tracks on the forwarder also help markedly for the traction requirements, adding that in really rough terrain conditions aggressive tracks would be an asset.

On hand for the PlantMax demo in Quebec were (left to right): Ryan Hunter, PlantMax product specialist for Canada: Simon Eurenius, Product Specialist, Plantma Forestry; Matthew MacGillivary, Sales Rep., Log Max Forestry: and Francis Nadeau, Product Specialist, Log Max Forestry. Plans for 2025 for the PlantMax demo unit include four to six weeks planting in Nova Scotia, and filling out the season in different regions of Quebec.

“The bottom line on traction is if there is wheel slippage or spinning, it compromises seedling spacing. Cruise control offers even more control and planting accuracy and consistency,” shared Tingley.

Log Max Forestry is currently consulting with other forwarder manufacturers to determine models which would work well with the PlantMax.

The PlantMax has a mid-forwarder, chassis-mounted disc scarifying unit on each side to expose mineral soil to create suitable planting sites. The scarifying units are trademarked as Midiflex, which is a subsidiary of Plantma AB. The Midiflex scarifier may also be carrier-mounted for more conventional scarification work.

The scarified ground is packed by the following rear bogie of the forwarder, in the process creating a firm planting site.

When the scarifier disk encounters rock, log debris or stumps, the scarification arm lifts and drops again after clearing the obstacle. The PlantMax computer is signaled not to attempt to plant a seedling where the obstacle was located.

Scarification quality is assessed by the rear cab operator, and adjustments can be made to the on-board computer to change the scarification qualities.

Seedlings in their grow trays are loaded into the PlantMax seedling storage racks. The seedling rack is offloaded from the forwarder with a mounted crane and the empty trays removed, and full seedling trays loaded. Forwarder cranes can be modified to load the seedling racks, which hold up to 20,000 seedlings, or customers may opt to install a more compact crane.

The PlantMax tree planter is designed to be mounted on a conventional forwarder with at least 268 hp. It consists of a rear facing cab, with seedlings in racks behind the rear facing operator, with two hydraulically operated planting arms which articulate from the back of the cab.

Tingley pointed out that as long as the loader does not extend above the height of the two cabs, and both bogies fit flat on the low-bed deck, the PlantMax meets height requirements for highway transport.

The seedling storage rack is reloaded and secured on the forwarder directly adjacent to the rear operator station.

The rear cab operator is required to remove individual seedlings from the trays and place them in a series of transporter (conveyor) cups which move the seedlings to a funnel system attached to a hydraulically activated planting arm, which articulates vertically at the back of the rear cab.

Plant arms can be operated individually or in pairs. Arms can be operated manually by the operator or in automatic, computer-controlled mode. Automatic is most often used.

The seedlings are air pressure assisted to drop down the arm to the planting tip. As the planting tip penetrates the scarified soil, the tip releases the seedling and the soil is compacted snugly around the seedling.

The air pressure is supplied by an onboard two-cylinder air compressor. The planting module also carries a water supply through which water is dispensed, under pressure, to clean the planting tip after each seedling plant cycle.

The distance between seedlings is determined by the computer setting. Speed of the PlantMax carrier is determined by soil condition and terrain etc., with maximum planting speed being 2.5 kilometres per hour, but Tingley explained that the more typical planting speed is two kilometres per hour.

The PlantMax began working in Canada in 2022, planting in New Brunswick for J.D. Irving Ltd, in a variety of soil conditions, and seedling species.

The PlantMax has performed well planting spruce, jack pine and white pine seedlings. Tingley pointed out that the size of the root ball must fit the transporter cups. He added that seedlings produced in different styles of containers have worked well in the PlantMax, but allowed that seedlings with roots extending into the container slots can slow down the operators transferring seedlings to transporter cups.

“There is not a great deal of difference in planting quality or efficiency with different tree species,” he explained. “Shorter seedlings tend to plant more consistently, but with setting adjustments and continuous improvement and experience, we are able to adapt to most every species and size of seedling.”

The seedling rack system can hold 20,000 seedlings. The operator handles full containers from the rack system and loads individual seedlings into the transporter cups, and also returns the empty containers back into the rack system. Empty containers are returned to the tree nursery.

Tingley explained that the forwarder operator uses visual observation of the last planted rows to guide the forwarder for the next planting pass. He added that customers could secure GPS technology to aid operators in achieving the desired row adjacency.

Planting productivity depends on the experience of the operators, terrain, soil conditions, stump height and other factors.

“In good conditions, we are seeing around 2,600 seedlings well-planted per hour,” he said. “In more challenging conditions, we have witnessed production drop to around 1,200 seedlings per hour.”

In Amos, Quebec, Aménagement S.W.E is the company that engaged Log Max Forestry for the demo. Co-owners Lorenzo Cregheur and his business partner Sylvain Lariviere run a harvesting and planting business in the Abitibi region. They have about 20 manual planters currently, and are very interested in adding to their business with a PlantMax.

Log Max Forestry planned to work the PlantMax in the Abitibi region for about two-and-a-half months, through the summer of 2024, planting private, industrial and public lands. The Municipalité Régionale de Comté, (MRC) supported the PlantMax demo activities in the Abitibi region.

Other provinces and regions will also be getting planting by the Plantmax. Following summer planting in Quebec, the PlantMax is scheduled to plant for a week in northwest New Brunswick and two weeks in Nova Scotia in the autumn. Plans for 2025 include four to six weeks planting in Nova Scotia, and filling out the season in different regions of Quebec.