In and amongst the growing debate over reducing the depth of cultivation, there is an emerging argument for taking the middle road in the form of strip-till with most leading manufacturers bringing their ideas to the market.
Strip-till is based on the idea that not all the ground needs cultivating when sowing a crop, so why do so? A valid question that is being addressed by a variety of implement manufacturers.
The operation involves cultivating just a strip of land wide enough to sow a crop into, leaving a row of disturbed soil between uncultivated lines into which fertiliser and seed can be be placed.
This can be performed at the time of cultivation, making it a one pass system, or it may be performed separately, a method that will depend upon accurate satellite navigation for best effect.
One of the more prominent strip-till cultivators being shown at Agritechnica was from MOM, an Italian company that had on display its latest version of the Strip Hawk Easy, a towed rather than mounted implement that has a telescopic frame for width adjustment.
The company is enthusiastic in promoting the concept pointing to the many advantages – which include a lower fuel consumption, less overall soil disturbance, greater protection against erosion, reduced labour requirement and many others.
Heavy duty
Although only cultivating a small strip the the Strip Hawk Easy is a robust machine which ensures that the cultivation units, which can be set at the desired width, remain in a straight line relative to the tractor.
Precision drill seeding attachments can be attached to the rear of the frame, or seed/fertiliser may be fed down each cultivation leg to place it at the required depth, which, in the case of fertiliser will likely be below that of the seed.
In an organic situation soil conditioners, such as molasses, or inoculants, may also be placed where they are likely to give the greatest benefit.
Two further advantages claimed of the Strip Hawk Easy is that soil compaction is reduced through the need for less passes , and the use of twin axles with low ground pressure tyres to support its weight.
The other is that a smaller tractor is required, or the existing tractor can prepare a larger area in less time, and timeliness is yet another benefit of strip-till.
