Lecture 7 Flashcards
Mechanical manipulation of soil to provide favorable conditions for crop production. Consists of breaking the compact surface of the Earth to a certain depth and loosening the soil mass, to enable the roots of the crops to penetrate and spread into the soil.
Tillage
What are the objectives of tillage
To obtain a deep seed bed, suitable for different types of crops.
To add more humus and fertility to soil by covering the vegetation.
To destroy and prevent weeds.
To aerate the soil for proper growth of crops.
To increase the water-absorbing capacity of the soil.
To destroy the insects, pests, and their breeding places.
To reduce soil erosion.
What are the types of tillage
Primary Tillage
Secondary Tillage
General-Purpose Tillage
Operation constitutes the initial cutting, breaking, and usually inversion of the soil. Often referred to as plowing. Normally designed to reduce soil strength, cover plant materials, and rearrange aggregates. The soil is cut deeper and more Thoroughly with a depth of 15cm to 90cm and it tends to produce a rough surface finish.
Primary Tillage
Subsequent breaking, pulverizing and levelling of the soil, making it ready for planting. Often referred to as harrowing. Depth of cut is normally 7cm to 15cm and sometimes selective in location. It tends to produce a smoother surface finish usually for the purpose of making a good seedbed for many crops.
Secondary Tillage
Combined primary and secondary tillage in one operation
General-Purpose Tillage
Type of Tillage system that Leaves less than 15% crop residue cover or less than 560kg/ha of small grain residue.
Intensive Tillage
A practice of minimizing soil disturbance and allowing crop residue to remain on the ground. Leaving between 15 to 30% residue cover on the soil or 560 to 1100 kg/ha of small grain residue during the critical erosion period
Reduced Tillage
Leaves at least 1,100 kg/ha of small grain residue on the surface during the soil erosion period. At least 30% of the soil surface is covered with crop residue/organic residue.
Conservation Tillage
Extreme form of conservation tillage resulting minimal disturbance to the soil surface, not using of any tillage equipment. Aims for 100% ground cover.
Zero Till/ No Till
Narrow strips are tilled where seeds will be planted, leaving the soil in between the rows untilled.
Strip-till
Involves planting row crops on permanent ridges about 6-10 inches high. The previous crop residue is cleared off ridge-tops into adjacent furrows to make way for the new crop being planted on ridges. Maintaining the ridges is essential and requires modified or specialized equipment
Ridge-till
Crop residues are mixed with the soil and a certain amount of residues (at least 30%) remain on the soil surface.
Mulch-till
the unplowed soil.
land
unplowed soil at the end of the furrow strip.
Headland
is the trench/left when the plow bottom cuts and turns the furrow slice.
Furrow
is the ribbon of soil cut, lifted, pulverized and thrown to one side of the plow bottom.
Furrow slice
is the raised ridge formed when a furrow slice is lapped over another slice. This ridge is slightly higher that the other ridges.
Back furrow
is the open trench, about twice the width of one bottom, formed when two adjacent furrow slices are thrown opposite each other.
Dead furrow
is the unbroken side of the furrow.
Furrow wall
when the land is broken by continuous lapping of furrow.
Flat broken
when the land is broken by alternate back furrows and dead furrows
Bedded or Listed
Equipment used by farmer to break and loosen the soil for a depth of 6 to 36 in(15.2 to 91.4 cm)
Primary Tillage Equipment
It is adapted to the breaking of many types of soils and is well suited for turning and covering crop residues. It is a sliding implement that cuts, lifts, inverts, and throws to one side a layer of soil
Moldboard Plow