Reduced tillage is becoming more and more of a talking point in the Irish tillage sector.
This week, AgriLand went along to see trials being set up for the year ahead with a number of different types of minimum-tillage machinery.
As of October 1, 2018, minimum-disturbance tillage equipment accounted for the majority of purchases on the tillage TAMS. 665 pieces of minimum-tillage machinery were purchased.
Three different field size plots were set up, each cultivated using a different machine.
- Vaderstad TopDown;
- Lemken Rubin 9;
- Lemken Karat 9.
The whole field was then planted with spring barley using a Lemken Solitair 9 drill, which was fitted with a Heliodor disc.
A yield monitor will be used at harvest time to assess the difference in crop yield between the plots.
Machinery on show
The Karat 9 was disturbing about 5in of soil. The seedbed it left behind can be seen in the pictures below.
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- The seedbed left after the Karat 9
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- The Karat 9 in action
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- The seedbed left after the Karat 9
The Rubin 9 was tilling to a depth of approximately 4in, while the Solitair 9 drill which followed was discing to approximately 3in.
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- The Rubin 9
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- The seedbed left after the Rubin 9
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- The Rubin 9 discing into a cover crop
Below is the seedbed left after the Vaderstad TopDown. AgriLand did not see this machine in action.
