No-Till: Making It Work - Planting Equipment

Table of Contents

1. No-till Planters
2. Available in Published Version of No-till

In no-till, effective crop establishment requires the proper selection of no-till tools or components. Knowing the nuts and bolts of no-till equipment is fundamental to setting up and fine-tuning your equipment to suit your operation.

Because equipment will be your largest investment, it will also be among your best opportunities to save in the long run. Less equipment can do more acres in no-till.

When you bring the planter or drill to the field, you're immediately reminded that the field looks almost the same as when you harvested the previous crop.

Figure 1. Without tillage, no-till planting equipment has to help create favourable seedbed conditions.

Without the benefit of several tillage passes, your planting equipment must:

• cut residue
• move excess residue
• loosen the seedbed for good seed-to-soil contact
• place seed in moist soil
• properly place other inputs
• close planting furrow and adequately press soil around seed.

Failure to meet most or all of these goals will result in uneven germination and emergence. And this can cause further problems with pests and growth during the growing season.

No-till Planters

Planter Setups

To make no-till planters work, you need to concentrate on:

• coulter setup
• uniformity of seeding depth and placement
• weight.

Ensure the planter is adjusted for field conditions.

Figure 2. Weight may be added inside the drill or planter frame.

Coulter Blade Selection

In a 2-coulter system:

A combination can be used, e.g., a 3 cm (1") fluted coulter in front of the starter fertilizer, and a 5 cm (2") fluted coulter for nitrogen application.

Figure 3. For good seed unit penetration, ensure the tillage coulter is aligned with the seed opener.

In a 3-coulter system:

• a 5 cm (2") fluted lead coulter will throw residue farther but won't throw much soil
• two 3 cm (1") fluted coulters would follow
• different coulter combinations can also be used
• a row cleaner may be added to this system but may be too aggressive under
  most conditions.

Using 2 coulters and row cleaner:

• 3 or 5 cm (1" or 2") fluted coulter is in front of the starter fertilizer
• 24-25 wave blade or ripple coulter is in front of the seed opener.

If the coulter is not located in front of the seed opener, then use a 1" or 2" coulter as in the 2-coulter system. A third coulter could be added to this system.

Available in Published Version of No-till

• Coulters
  • Tillage coulters compared - chart
• Row Cleaners
  • Row cleaners compared - chart
• Press Wheels
  • Press wheels compared - chart
• Other Components
  • Seed depth
  • Control markers
  • Seed firming devices
  • Trash guards
• No-till Seed Drills
  • Setting up seed drills
  • Fine-tuning the seed drill - checklists
  • Troubleshooting no-till seed drills - chart
• No-till Planters
  • Coulter depth and arrangements, residue flow
  • Weight - requirements, positioning of weights
  • Fertilizer placement attachments
  • Troubleshooting no-till planter equipment - chart
• Ridge Till Planters
  • Equipment considerations for narrow-row corn