Twister Makes Seedbed Behind Row Subsoiler

Twister Makes Seedbed Behind Row Subsoiler SUBSOILERS Subsoilers (58n) 4-1-31 Latest new twist in tillage is the "Soil Twister" which mounts directly behind row subsoilers to prepare a seedbed suitable for planting. The idea: To break up hardpan and prepare a row-crop seedbed in a onceover operation. "We think it has real possibilities," reports Cecil Hammond, who, along with co-workers Travis Reid and W. E. Seigler, developed the new tillage tool. All three are University of Georgia agricultural engineers. The original plan was to mount an inclined, rotating, tapered auger - similar to a giant woodscrew - behind a subsoil shank. Four other hydraulically powered soil pulverizing devices (see photo) were subsequently developed and tested in a heavy Davison clay loam soil at the experiment station, located in Griffin, Ga. The subsoil shank (one row unit) was operated at a depth of 18 in., and the pulverizes attachments at a depth of 14 in. All of the pulverizing devices were powered by a hydraulic motor supplied by the tractor hydraulic's system. They were mounted at 60? from horizontal (top leaning forward) and rotated at 325 rpm. All of the devices tested did a reasonably acceptable job of pulverizing the soil. Weeds and crop litter (green pea vines) created some wrapping problems on devices 2, 3 and 4, but not on devices 1 and 5. "It would be desirable to have a helix (device 5) with an open center (without the lower center shaft) to make it self-cleaning since a few vines were caught between the helix and the bottom stablizing bar which attaches the helix to the center shaft. This may have caused a slight increase in power to rotate the drive shaft but otherwise was of no consequence," explains Hemmon. The shape of the spiral or flighting on the pulverizes can be modified to suit the particular needs for various soils and planting operations. "A manufacturer has agreed to license and market the device. Consequently, you should be seeing a soil twister on the market in the not too distant future which, hopefully, will allow once-over farming under almost any conditions," Hammond told FARM SHOW. For more details, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Cecil Hammond, Extension Engineer, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.

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