Currently, more and more farmers are moving away from plowing systems in favor of simplified cultivation, which is characterized by fewer tillage operations on the land. Unlike classic plowing, reduced tillage has a positive impact on the properties of the soil and the entire environment. It involves a special cultivation method that requires agricultural machinery that does not rely on a plow system. Also check under what conditions it is worth using no-plough cultivation.
- Principles of simplified cultivation
- On which farms is no-till farming effective?
- What tool can be used for no-till farming?
Principles of simplified cultivation
No-tillage cultivation is a plowless cultivation system consisting only of simultaneous loosening and mixing of the soil. In this case, there is no need to turn the earth as plows used to do. Thanks to this, some crop residues remain on the surface, which provide the soil with many organic substances necessary to shape its fertility. Moreover, this type of cultivation works on shallower layers of the soil, because the rest of the activities are performed by earthworms, which naturally cultivate the soil. It is due to the presence of beneficial organisms that the biological properties of the soil improve, or more precisely, they help air it, mix residues and regulate the amount of water.
On which farms is no-till farming effective?
Cultivation without the need to mix the soil can be carried out especially in fields where crop rotation with a large predominance of cereals is used, in lowland, hilly and highly sculpted areas. In addition ploughless cultivation it is also recommended when rainfall is low and unevenly distributed. It is also worth mentioning that it copes perfectly with well-kept soils, which are rich in calcium and organic substances derived from dead plant remains.
What tool can be used for no-till farming?
As we already mentioned in no-tillage cultivation we do not use a traditional plow that would work on deep layers of soil and turn it over. In this situation, we use agricultural machines such as cultivators, disc harrows, scarifiers and modern cultivating units. They make it possible to perform intensive and shallow cultivation at the same time right after harvesting, in order to prepare the soil for sowing in the next step. One such device is PORTO no-plough aggregate, which is equipped with stiff Deltra Flex tines and scraping discs. Its main advantage is that it is suitable for both shallow and deep cultivation.
