The quest for one tillage machine to do it all
The evolution of vertical tillage tools has entered a new phase with the introduction of “hybrid” tillage tools.
“Hybrid tillage is almost the Holy Grail of tillage,” says Curt Davis, marketing director for Kuhn Krause. “Farmers want to incorporate heavier residues and level minor ruts after harvest and then use the same machine for vertical tillage in the spring to prepare the seedbed.”
EVOLUTION OF THE TOOL
Early vertical tillage tools used straight disks mounted in the direction of travel to cut and size residue with minimal lateral soil movement. Second generation vertical tillage tools added slightly concave disks mounted at an angle to level ridges and increase residue incorporation.
Hybrid tillage tools offer a variety of disk blade options to cut and size residue in conjunction with adjustable disk gangs to allow aggressive tillage in the fall and, after adjustments, seedbed preparation in the spring.
While hybrid tools are versatile, they aren’t the Swiss Army Knife of tillage equipment.
“A hybrid tool engages the top 1" to 6" of soil,” says James Shurts, product manager for Great Plains Manufacturing, “depending on how you have it set. In order to do a vertical reset of the soil profile and break things up 6" to 12" deep, down in the root zone, you’re still going to need to occasionally use a subsoiler or ripper.”
Selecting the right options on hybrid tillage tools is critical:
- The type and number of flutes on disk blades influence the sizes of clods. The smaller the flutes, the smaller the clods.
- Straight disk blades size residue but move little soil to leave a near-no-till surface with minimal residue incorporation. Concave blades move soil to level ridges and increase residue incorporation.
- Disk spacing controls the sizing of residue. The angle of disk gangs determines the amount of residue incorporation and soil leveling.
- Manufacturers offer many options to match the tillage and residue incorporation desired by operators.
Great Plains Manufacturing’s Terra-Max HT1100 features fluted, slightly concave turbo speed disk blades on two gangs that can be hydraulically adjusted from the cab. The front gang adjusts from zero to 8 degrees. The second gang adjusts from zero to 6 degrees.
Angled rolling spike harrows and hydraulically adjustable rolling baskets allow operators to leave a rougher surface after fall tillage or a smoothed seedbed in spring.
Case IH’s True-Tandem 335 vertical tillage system combines slightly concave Barracuda blades with aggressive 18-degree gang angles to achieve residue sizing and incorporation while leveling soils. Hydraulically-adjustable rolling reels allow operators to tune clod sizing and residue distribution behind the machine.
Kuhn Krause’s Excelerator XT 8010 features disk gangs that can be set at 8 degrees to aggressively smooth ruts in the fall, then reset to 3 to 5 degrees, running 2" deep, for seedbed preparation in the spring.
Salford’s I-4200 has two rows of 22" concave blades followed by two rows of 22" wavy coulters, producing an overall disk spacing of 5". Hydraulically adjustable Switchblade shanks can be mounted between the front and rear disks to apply fertilizer or provide deeper tillage.
Hydraulically-adjustable tine harrows and rolling baskets fine-tune the soil surface behind the machine.
“You can run the disks deeper in the fall to get more lateral soil movement to smooth out ruts or maybe drop the shanks to work the soil a little deeper,” says Anson Boak, Salford marketing manager. “In the spring you want to run the disks shallower and adjust the tine harrow and rolling baskets according to soil conditions to get the seedbed you want.”
John Deere’s 2660VT tillage tool allows operators to use a prescription map to automatically adjust depth and down pressure as the machine moves through a field.
“(A prescription map) allows the machine to incorporate more residue in high yielding areas of a field, then do less incorporation in lower yielding areas or lighter soils,” says Ryan Jardon, John Deere product marketing manager. “The 2660VT can go from a disk gang angle of zero degrees to as much as 12 degrees. The goal is to tailor the depth of operation and the sizing and incorporation of residue to the soil and residue conditions, whether it’s postharvest or preplant.”
