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Root-Cutting Plows Save Hedge Rows, Crops
"Root plowing" is the best way to save hedge rows throughout the Midwest and plain states, according to officials of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission who have bought several root plows and now loan them out free to farmers.
Root plowing cuts off the lateral "sucker" roots of hedge trees so they can't compet
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Root-Cutting Plows Save Hedge Rows, Crops TILLAGE EUIPMENT Miscellaneous 10-1-29 "Root plowing" is the best way to save hedge rows throughout the Midwest and plain states, according to officials of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission who have bought several root plows and now loan them out free to farmers.
Root plowing cuts off the lateral "sucker" roots of hedge trees so they can't compete with cash crops for moisture. Deep cutting, single shanked root plows cut through roots up to 2 in. in dia., preventing regrowth for as long as 10 years. It costs about 20 times less to slice off hedge row roots than to bring in a dozer to take the entire hedge out.
"Hundreds of miles of hedge rows have been removed in Nebraska and our conservationists are concerned because hedge rows and shelter belts are home to wildlife such as quail, songbirds, rabbits and also because they provide a break to help prevent wind erosion," says Patrick H. Cole, of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
Root plows, which sell for anywhere from $300 to $500, consist of a single, 36-in. long shanked cutter with a blunt edge. Working with a 50 hp tractor a farmer can clean up about ¢ mile of hedge row per hour. It's necessary to make two passes, the first with the root plow at 12 to 15 in. deep and the second at the full working depth of 20 in. It's best to work about 15 to 20 ft. from the edge of the hedge row. The process doesn't effect growth of the hedge, according to Cole, and roots regrow at 1 to 2 ft. per year.
It costs about $50 per mile in time and fuel to cut roots using a root plow versus about $1,000 per mile to dig out the hedge with a dozer.
The Nebraska Games and Parks Commission make the plows available athrough local SCS offices. Root plows of the type used in Nebraska are available from two companies. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, The Waldorf Co., 3200 No. Summit, Arkansas City, Kan. 67005 (ph 316 442-1340), or FARM SHOW Followup, Saueressig Salvage, Rt. 1, Box 365, Burlington, Kan. 66839 (ph 316 364-2063).
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