Cultivation: What Is It? Continuous Tillage Cultivators And Walk-behind Tractors For Minimum Tillage, Their Overview

2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-15 04:10

The maintenance of a garden or vegetable garden is a troublesome business and requires a lot of effort on the part of the summer resident. A person has to resort to many agricultural techniques in order to keep the site in good condition and get a rich harvest. In conditions of impressive areas, universal methods are often used, covering a certain number of necessary procedures with the soil. In this article, we will learn what cultivation is and what are its features.

What it is

Cultivation is one of the most commonly used cultivation methods, which many owners of their own plots turn to. It implies plowing without seam turnover, in which the moistened low layer does not move upward.

Passages of varying degrees of depth are guaranteed sufficient loosening, crumbling and slight mixing of the area from above.

If you look at the field after such an agrotechnical operation, it may visually seem that it has become perfectly even.

What is it for

Soil cultivation is a popular form of cultivation. Let's consider what is the main purpose of this demanded agrotechnical technique:

• This is an excellent seedbed preparation. With the help of cultivation, the land is carefully prepared for further work.
• In the long term, this method of cultivating the soil makes it possible to achieve an ideal balance of particulate matter and air pores. Through the latter, you can get not only moisture, but also the necessary nutrients.
• Thanks to competently done cultivation, carried out in accordance with all the requirements, the root systems of plants can develop much faster and more actively.
• Even with a slight movement of the soil, all beneficial microorganisms that feed the soil are activated.
• Due to the correct cultivation process, the soil subsequently warms up faster. Thanks to this feature, the summer resident can significantly save his free time. This factor is especially significant when it comes to early spring.
• Cultivation is carried out so that the planted seeds germinate quickly and without problems, without experiencing difficulties.
• By resorting to cultivation, the owner of his own garden has the opportunity to get rid of weeds. This agrotechnical procedure is used to cut the rhizomes of weeds.
• If you need herbicide treatment or the application of suitable fertilization in large areas, then a dumping technique can be a win-win solution.
• Cultivation is an excellent method of cultivating the soil for cereals.

Species overview

There are several subspecies of cultivation. Each of them has its own characteristics of the work. Let's get to know them better.

Inter-row

The specified type of operation, based on its own name, aimed directly at driving between the lines of crops planted on the site … It is one of the most important components of high-quality and efficient processing, which is often used in crops where potatoes, beets or corn are grown.

There are no complex and special requirements for the inter-row method of driving . This type of cultivation is carried out in accordance with the growth of the existing plantings. The number of treatments required should be determined as necessary. If it is noticed that the weed grows especially actively and luxuriantly, and the soil is too compacted, then proper processing should be carried out more often. If we are talking about good, cleaned and loose soil on the site, then frequent cultivation is not required here.

Cultivation of the inter-row type is allowed to be combined with the introduction of suitable top dressing into the soil (in spring or autumn), as well as with the laying of pesticides . At the same time, the preparation of irrigation holes is often carried out - this is the correct care for such a popular crop as potatoes.

In places where there is a wetter type of soil, cultivation is carried out in combination with hilling when working with root crops.

Solid

If you look at this subspecies of soil preparation, then it may seem very simple and quick, since a suitable unit works with the entire site at once. Basically, this popular method is used when it comes to processing clean steam or areas that are diverted to the chill . For this reason, this type of cultivation is also called pre-sowing cultivation.

In the spring, it is required to loosen the soil layer that was compacted for the winter. Thus, the necessary drainage and air circulation is provided. Starting approach usually carried out at a shallow depth - about 6-16 cm. A certain parameter in this case depends on the state of the land itself on the site. So, on faster-drying bases, it makes sense to take more depth.

Working procedures with clean steam, they are most often carried out at a depth of no more than 12 cm. If repeated passes are carried out, then the ripper can be set to another parameter - a maximum of 6 cm.

Before starting sowing it is required to take a depth corresponding to the line of occurrence of seeds … It must be taken into account that the soil will certainly give a slight subsidence. Having planned the furrow sowing, the "legs" of the technique need to be deepened by another 2-3 cm.

What do they do

Cultivation is a type of land preparation that requires specialized equipment capable of handling the assigned tasks. Based on the type of processing itself and the direct squaring of the existing site, the following varieties of cultivators can be used:

Manual … Many summer residents keep a simple hand-held cultivator. The unit can be rotary or loosening. The first models are a special shaft equipped with small diameter star discs that are attached to a comfortable handle. The loosening varieties are the same handles, but already having more pointed edge surfaces with teeth. The latter can be either 3 or 5. In the lion's share of situations, such specimens are exploited in closer conditions, for example, greenhouses or in an environment of excessively tightly skipped rows.

Motoblocks and motor-cultivators . Many summer residents prefer to cultivate the land using a walk-behind tractor or a powerful motor-cultivator. On sale there are both low-power units (up to 3 HP) and medium-level devices (5-6 HP), as well as high-power models. The most powerful agricultural equipment of the type in question can be equipped with a high-quality 6-10 hp motor. with. All products differ not only in power, but also in total weight, functional content. They are great for a big city, and specimens that are equipped in the form of attachments can become wonderful helpers in the household.

Hinged mechanisms for tractors . Such equipment can be an ideal solution for large farms, but it is impractical to buy these options for a small summer cottage. They are versatile and highly productive products that require correct and regular maintenance and adjustment. For inter-row passages, special row-crop mechanisms are used, while spring cultivation of steamy soil with an ordinary tractor is usually carried out with the participation of a special steam shed.

Different farmers use different types of equipment to prepare plots … For minimal and simple processing, a manual unit with the most understandable device is quite enough. Sometimes they use a brushcutter by installing a suitable nozzle on it. These are good solutions for not very large areas.

For basic soil cultivation, special stubble combination cultivators can also be used . - that is, equipment that is suitable for most types of soil. This is a fairly large technique that is often used on large-scale areas.

How to cultivate correctly

It is necessary to cultivate the soil on the site correctly. It is important to observe all the features of such a land cultivation technique . Let's consider in stages how to do this correctly using the example of a walk-behind tractor, avoiding mistakes.

The first step is to prepare the unit for further work … It is required to install a suitable set of cutters on both sides. Usually, one set contains from 6 to 12 knives. A similar number of parts and their location make it possible to achieve excellent results.

When fixing the knives, make sure that the cutting half "looks" forward while moving the walk-behind tractor.

Then place the opener. This is a bar that has vertical holes. With them, you can adjust the level of the recess of the cutters in the course of working the land. To independently adjust the cultivation depth, you can attach the opener to the shackle in various ways:

• if it is necessary to make the depth more, the opener will need to be lowered lower and attached to the shackle, passing through the holes located on top;
• if you want to reduce the depth, the opener must be lifted up and attached to the shackle through the lower holes.

After completing all the preparatory steps, you can proceed directly to the process of soil cultivation . Keep in mind that the speed with which you cultivate the land affects the quality of work in general.

There are 2 main gears - increased and decreased . Carrying out the cultivation procedure, it is required to ensure that the walk-behind tractor operates at high speeds. Therefore, you must choose the right gear so that the rotational speed of the cutters is impressive.

Correctly set gear will significantly reduce the load on the engine, which is present in the design of the unit, and will also increase the quality of soil loosening . Having completed the cultivation work on the front page, it is worth checking at what depth the cultivation was carried out. If the indicator is satisfactory, you can work longer. Remember not to put too much pressure on the steering wheel of the device when lowering it down. It is also not necessary to push the walk-behind tractor, because as a result it will lead to the fact that it will "bury" in the ground.

Helpful hints and tips

Before you start cultivating the soil on your site, you should arm yourself with some useful recommendations:

If it is necessary to grind the accumulated earth clods and seal the crops into the furrows, then you can additionally use another device - a harrow. Previously, it was a gnarled type of log that was dragged by hand or with the help of draft animals

• Cultivation can be a great solution if sunflower sowing is planned. Moreover, this crop can be fertilized to increase yields. Sunflower can be fed with both mineral and organic compounds.
• Before starting self-cultivation using a walk-behind tractor, you should carefully examine it. Look at the power system for agricultural machinery. During the period that the unit was in storage, the carburetor could get clogged, which is why it will subsequently not allow fuel to pass through.
• Some farmers, cultivating the land with a walk-behind tractor, put additional cutters (reinforced parts) on it, which are most often made by hand. This should not be done, since the engine of the walk-behind tractor may not cope with them. In addition, in more difficult areas, the technique runs the risk of overheating.
• It is important to correctly select agricultural technology for the cultivation of your site. European manufacturers produce more expensive, but high quality and durable copies that do their job well. Domestic units will be cheaper, but as a rule, they cannot compete with foreign models in reliability.
• If you have a small plot of land at your disposal, it makes no sense to buy huge agricultural machinery for its processing, which is very expensive.