Primary soil cultivation is an important step in farming that ensures healthy and fertile soils. It involves an intensively mixing and loosening cultivation of the soil at a depth between 15 and 35 cm. Various machines like cultivators are used to break compaction, loosen the root zone and mix subsurface erosion horizons. This counteracts the washing out of nutrients to deeper layers.
Tillage machines for shallow cultivation to deep loosening – plough soles are broken and at the same time organic matter is reliably mixed in across the entire cultivation horizon:
Another important step in the tillage sector is stubble cultivation that is carried out after the main crop has been harvested. This is where cultivators and disc harrows are used. The objective of stubble cultivation is to re-distribute straw, break capillaries and encourage rotting. The stubble cultivation is to produce fine soil that is mixed with straw and covers seeds that lie on the surface.
Machine examples for the main conditions of use stubble cultivation, incorporation of catch crops, seedbed preparation and the incorporation of organic fertilisers:
For seeding, seedbed preparation is of major importance. It is about creating a finely crumbled and even surface to ensure an optimum seed development. There are machines for seedbed preparation to ensure a successful seeding. The tasks of seedbed preparation include the production of fine soil, the consolidation in the germination horizon, the creation of a finely crumbled structure, the incorporation and the seeding of catch crops as well as the maintenance of the mulch cover.
Machine examples for seedbed preparation as a basis for successful seeding:
Innovative solutions for conservation and future-oriented tillage offer a wide range of options, among them direct seeding, minimum tillage, ultra-shallow tillage, all-over cutting, deep primary soil cultivation and intensive mixing. These approaches take into account the current challenges in the agricultural sector, like climate change and weather extremes, and encourage soil organisms and microbiology.
The choice of the right tillage tool depends on the individual requirements of the farm. For direct seeding methods, a light cultivation after the harvest is often recommended mainly for straw distribution. This is the perfect field of application for the Cultro. Finer, Cruiser as well as Terrano with TerraCut points are ideal for mulch seeding methods and for shallow cultivation passes. This combination allows for a mechanical weed control, minimum soil movement and efficient crushing of organic matter. Moreover, catch crops can be used to increase the covering of the soil.
Finally, it is important to cultivate the soil in a resource-protecting way and to take factors like climate change and weather extremes into account. The encouragement of the soil organisms and of the microbiology as well as an economic tillage that takes agronomic aspects into account are basic principles that lead to healthy and high-yield soils.
Only a responsible treatment of the soil can help to achieve good yields in the long run and to protect the environment. Make your farm fit for the future and rely on state-of-the-art tillage technologies!
Our experts will be happy to advise you which tillage machine is the perfect match for your farm and how you can optimise your primary soil cultivation.