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A SMALL‐PLOT SEEDER AND FERTILIZER APPLICATOR
Author(s) -
Engel Richard E.,
Fischer Thomas,
Miller John,
Jackson Grant
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj2003.1337
Subject(s) - seeder , fertilizer , tractor , mathematics , agronomy , cultivar , combine harvester , agricultural engineering , environmental science , engineering , sowing , biology , mechanical engineering
Cereal grain investigators frequently include multiple cultivars and fertility levels in field experiments. Greater flexibility in experimental design and setup could be achieved with equipment that enables quick changes in cultivar and fertilizer rates from one plot to the next. A small‐plot seeder was constructed to meet this objective. The unit consists of the following basic components: the hitch, a tool‐bar for pulling a set of six blade coulter or fertilizer knives, a squeeze pump for liquid fertilizer applications, an operators chair and work rack, two belt cones for granular fertilizer and seed distribution, a grain box, and a set of six double‐disc or spear‐point openers plus press wheels. The seeder (794 kg) currently is being pulled with a 41 kW tractor, and has been successfully used in no‐till applications with blade coulters mounted on the front tool‐bar. Under normal conditions two people can fertilize and seed 60 plots (7–10 m long) in 1 h changing crop cultivars–species, fertilizer sources (granular material only), and fertilizer rates.