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Agronomic Row Crops
Ridge-till Planter
Ridge tillage uses permanent elevated rows 30" or more apart that
keep traffic off the row area.
Cultivation is central to ridge tillage. Suitable cultivators can
handle residue and work 4" to 6" deep. Disk hillers need to be height-adjustable
to run higher than sweeps for early passes. At first cultivation
(corn more than 3" tall, soybeans more than 2"), disk hillers skim
weeds from sides of the ridge (moving soil into row middles) while
wide sweeps run lower to undercut weeds in row middles.
Second cultivation controls later weeds just before crops form
a shade canopy and also creates ridges for the next season. A narrower
sweep prevents damage to developing crop roots. The disk hillers
are set to move soil back into the row. The best (flat or gently
rounded) ridges are formed by ridging wings, which are mounted on
cultivator shanks. The wings push soil—flowing back from sweeps
and disk hillers—into the row area, rebuilding the ridge. The soil
moved into the row smothers weeds, preserves moisture in the root
area and anchors stalks against lodging. Minimize soil hilling in
soybeans that could interfere with harvest of low-hanging pods.
Ridge-tilled fields are left undisturbed—except for optional stalk
chopping—until the next planting season. Residue tends to accumulate
in the middles, but also protects the ridges over winter. Elevated
stalks and ridge height helps trap snow—a benefit in dryland areas.
In the spring, ridge tops dry and warm more quickly than unridged
ground. Ridge tillage is especially suited to flat fields of slow-drying
or heavy soils, in contoured rows on slopes up to 6 percent, or
for furrow-irrigated fields.
Ridge-till planters are unique in their ability to be configured to
significantly suppress weeds. The planters
do two things: 1. Skim a thin layer of weed seed-laden soil and residue
from the old seedbed’s row area; 2. Plant crop seeds by placing them
into firmed, moist soil then covering them with loose, drier soil.
Preventing weed seed-soil contact delays weed growth in the row area,
giving the crop an advantage.
Design Features: Tooling may include a residue-cutting
coulter with depth-gauge wheels or a depth-banded coulter (to cut
residue and provide uniform cleaning depth); a wide sweep, horizontal
disk or double vertical disks (to move soil from the row area and
create a weed-free seedbed); trash guards or residue wings (to push
disturbed soil and residue into row middles); a seed press wheel;
and small cover disks and/or a harrow trailing to cover the seed row.
List price: Six rows on 30" centers
Conversion kits: $200 to $360 per row
Complete planters: $14,080
Sources: Whole goods: 43;
Conversions: 20,
35, 43
See: Thompson
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Agronomic Tool Index
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