Tillage objectives vary from farm-to-farm and year-to-year. Tillage is used to manage crop residue and soil compaction, control weeds, incorporate soil amendments and prepare the soil for seed placement. The emphasis of the field demonstrations at Ag Expo ‘99 (June 29-July1) will be on the role of seedbed tillage equipment in promoting crop growth and facilitating crop management.

Common components of combination tillage tools include disks or coulter gangs to cut heavy residue, sweeps, chisels or goosefoot points on S-tine or C-shaped cultivator shanks, chopper reels, rolling baskets or rolling harrows to break up soil clods, incorporate pesticides and firm the seedbed and leveling harrows to prepare a fine seedbed for small-seeded crops. Zone or strip-tillage systems use a combination of coulters, tillage shanks with leveling discs or finger row cleaners to cut residue and till a narrow band of soil. Removing or incorporating the residue from the soil surface allows faster soil warm-up and facilitates placement of fertilizer in liquid, granular or anhydrous form. Planting zones can be created in the fall or in the spring, hours or days before planting.

The Field demonstrations at Ag Expo will highlight:

• Field cultivators and high residue combination tillage tools.

• Aerators for managing shallow soil compaction and improving water infiltration in high residue conditions.

• Zone- and strip-tillage tools for preparing planting zones and placing fertilizer prior to planting.