Weapons of choice

Tines or discs? Working shallow or deep? Jane Carley finds out how to navigate the cultivator minefield.

The only predictable aspect of autumn cultivations is their unpredictability. As recent seasons have shown, that old faithful tillage implement in the shed may not cope with extremes of wet and dry.

There may also be a requirement for shallower working ahead of a new drilling regime, a weatherproof finish for later or spring establishment, or to selectively target areas of compaction to combat damage from the last spring.

On heavy land, operators may be looking to a ‘hard reset’ with a subsoiler. Horsch UK general manager Steve Burcham suggests most heavy land farms will have a rotational subsoiling plan in place.

“Where a disc and tine combination has been used, heavy land can dry out and get cloddy on top, or if the land has just been very wet, it is a good idea to subsoil.

“At other times it may be necessary to only treat certain areas, such as the headlands and where heavy tractors and even balers have caused compaction. It is common to subsoil the tramlines as well, unless you are in a CTF system.”

Guide

Sumo technical specialist Rob Shepherd says soil quality should be the guide.

“Looking at last autumn and the unpredictability of the weather, I believe it is more important than ever to take care of your soil.

“If your soil structure is good you can get on the land quicker after adverse weather.

“I would recommend using a subsoiler with low disturbance legs early on, giving the land chance to drain before using strip-till seeding. This method lowers your input costs and improves the root structure, which can boost yields.”

Another occasion to get the subsoiler out, Mr Burcham suggests, is when taking on a new parcel of land, where the compacted areas may not be obvious in the first season.

He says: “Expanding farm businesses may subsoil the whole acreage they are taking on and then work shallower and more selectively in subsequent years.”

Subsoiling

However, subsoiling may decline in popularity as fewer growers establish oilseed rape, one crop which really benefits from deep loosening and is often sown on the subsoiler, he says.

Rob Shepherd says that, overall, Sumo is seeing a reduction in subsoiler sales.

“The reality is if you are looking after the soil, less subsoiling is needed. Farmers are using the roots of cover crops to improve soil structure, meaning the land is more self-sufficient in dealing with excess water.”

Light land can need more work, as sandy soils are prone to slumping in wet conditions and need disturbance, suggests Steve Burcham.

“It might need ploughing or working with a tine to 15-20cm if sufficient horsepower is available. Where there is surface trash, a disc and tine combination is better to incorporate the residues.”

MACHINE VERSATILITY

THE need for implements to handle trash depends on the rotation, as crops such as beans produce fewer residcues.

Nr Burcharn says: "Due to black-grass issues, we are seeing fewer customers relying on wheat-OSR-wheat rotations, so they will have a wider range of crops to consider."

Cover crops are also increasingly becoming part of the soil working equation, although Mr Burcham says it would be unwise to see them as a stand-alone solution.

"We cannot rely on frost to kill them off so we need to use glyphosate, which could be an issue in the future."

For flexibility of cultivations, Mr Burcham says a disc and tine combination is a good choice.

“Look for an implement which can deep loosen, but can also be adjusted to bring tines up shallower and where discs can be taken out of work or put in as needed, including to incorporate cover crops.”

Mr Shepherd says the popularity of implements with interchangeable legs to either subsoil or shatter the pan is reflected in Sumo’s sales, with more versatile machines increasingly popular.

“Cultivation machinery is more versatile than ever. Take the Sumo Trio as an example. You can subsoil, shatter the pan, mix the tilth and leave a fully weatherproof seedbed ready for seeding – all in one pass. You can also drop out the discs with four bolts or lift the legs fully out. We offer a range of different legs and points depending on what the farmer is trying to achieve.”

The ability to establish small seeds is another string to the bow of cultivators, he says.

“All our cultivators can be fitted with single disc openers and a seeder to work as a small-seed drill, improving root structure when compared to conventional combination drilling methods.”

Versatility is enhanced by the ability to adapt the implement for different working depths. Mr Burcham reports a significant move towards hydraulic implement adjustment.

“More than 80 per cent of our cultivators are now specified with hydraulic adjustment, making it easier to adapt the machine quickly and easily to changing conditions and ensure you are always working at the correct depth.”

CHANGING TECHNIQUES

THE shift towards non-inversion establishment continues as farmers look to cut costs and boost soil health, but the success of no-till operations can sometimes be jeopardised by poor soil conditions, says Mr Burcham.

“A straw rake may not move enough soil, particularly where straw has been chopped and you need to mix it in with soil, where shallow work with a tine is more effective.”

A popular technique for mintillers in Europe and increasingly adopted in the UK is using a short disc cultivator for primary cultivations followed by a deeper tine to loosen immediately before drilling, he says.

“But bear soil type in mind. For example, you do not want to go in too deep where there is a lot of stone.”

The short disc cultivator is also popular for seedbed preparation where the plough is in the rotation.

“Farmers with heavy land look to be moving away from the plough as it can be hard to work if it dries out, although it can be useful to take advantage of blackgrass dormancy in a dry June and bury the seeds, whereas in a wet year it is better to get it to chit.”

The panacea for bigger farms is to have a short disc cultivator and a tined implement, he says.

“Where the weather conditions look set to deteriorate, this set-up allows you to prepare the ground with the tined cultivator in autumn, let it weather over winter and either go straight in with a cultivator drill in spring or freshen up with the short disc cultivator.”

Sumo offers a full range of minimum tillage cultivators, says Mr Shepherd.

Versatility

“Our short disc cultivator creates a shallow growing environment for the weed seeds to chit, but in terms of versatility it is equally at home levelling down ploughing as it is in a chitting operation.

It is no easy task to move to minimum cultivation, which is why lots of farms are still ploughing

“We recently added the Vaxio disc and tine cultivator which is capable of shallow to deep cultivation, offering good seedbed creation, soil moisture retention and compaction alleviation with high output capabilities.

“It is no easy task to move to minimum cultivation, which is why lots of farms are still ploughing. It takes time, too. You cannot just invest in a shed-full of new machinery, but need to take steps towards improving soil health over a long period of time.”