Row Zone Tillage Better Than No Till

Row zone tillage better than no till TILLAGE EUIPMENT New Tools 9-6-7 "It's a step beyond no-till," says Randal Cox, Van Wert, Iowa, inventor of a new one-pass tillage tool called the Cox Row Zone. "It gives you the best of both no-till and conventional till since you just till a 6-in. wide strip for each corn row and leave the rest of the ground intact with the trash untouched to reduce erosion. You can also use it on ridge ground without any problems." The Row Zone consists of three main components. Up-front 18-in. dia. coulters cut through trash. They're followed by subsoiler shanks which can work as deep as 15-in. The shanks are followed by disk killers that create 4 to 5-in. tall, 8 to 10-in. wide ridges that reseal the trench and create the seedbed. Cox says this raised seedbed warms up faster and keeps the seed out of water after heavy rains. The new implement becomes a one-pass tillage tool by pulling a planter directly behind it and applying fertilizer and herbicide at the same time. In working the field, you line up the Row Zone so it tills directly over the old row. Cox says you continue working over the old row until the year before planting a solid-seeded crop, in which case you'll want to work between the old rows to reduce the possibility of field streaking the next year. Row Zone can also be used in the fall to incorporate fertilizer and to break up hard pan to draw down winter moisture. In the spring you can then run the Row Zone directly over the same rows again as the shanks will automatically realign themselves. Models are available in 4, 6, and 8 rows (30-in. wide). Cox says the implement requires about 15 hp per row. Sells for $2,000 per row. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Randal Cox, Van Wert, Iowa 50262 (ph 515 445-5165).

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