Low disturbance tillage is becoming increasingly popular with growers as they continue to move away from ploughing and embrace modern regenerative farming practices.
“After root crops or pigs there is certainly a place for ploughing to reset the land, but many growers are moving towards regenerative systems which leave the soil profile and structure intact,” says Chandlers managing director Gavin Pell.
“Some modern subsoilers have very low surface disturbance and can be used to alleviate compaction without disturbing the soil profile.
“For example, with the HE-VA Stealth a disc makes a cut and a leg passes through. The soil profile is not inverted.”
Growers using a min till or no till regime are increasingly looking for effective, low disturbance subsoiling said Pell.
“This is to loosen and fracture the medium depth subsoil to relieve compaction, assist drainage, aeration, nitrogen uptake and to encourage crop rooting.”
“Very shallow surface cultivators are also proving popular for stale seedbeds.
“They promote weed seeds to chit. As the cost of chemicals rises some growers are using cultivators instead of glyphosate.”
With less and lighter cultivation being carried out, there is a matching trend away from very large tractors.
Low disturbance tillage
“We are increasingly seeing farmers who are looking for low disturbance direct drills that don’t compromise on quality of the seedbed, in particular good seed to soil contact,” said Dani Bond, general manager at Mzuri.
“The Mzuri Pro-Til and iPass drills use tines to generate a small amount of tilth which the seed is placed in and efficiently reconsolidated to maximise germination rates.
“The flagship Pro-Til one-pass drill offers strip tillage and direct establishment into stubble and cover crops and remains a popular choice with growers looking to reduce establishment costs compared to conventional systems.
“The iPass, launched earlier this year, has been specifically designed to offer high output, efficient low disturbance seeding direct into a range of field types at high operating speeds, whilst consistently maintaining an accurate drilling depth – something which our Mzuri range is known for.
“We are looking forward to the Midlands Machinery Show where we hope to showcase both the Pro-Til and iPass, alongside our new low disturbance subsoiler the Rehab,” said Bond.
