Seed Drill

[blufford]

I've heard of seed drills used in no-till plantings. How do they work?

[haypoint]

Disc openers slice thru the vegatative matter, opening a slot in the soil and press wheels follow to press the soil against the seed. Simular to a regular grain drill, except a lot heavier and able to cut thru the surface grass/straw/corn stalks.

[blufford]

Thanks Haypoint

[agmantoo]

Coulter in the front cuts a slit in the soil. Next in line with the slit is usually a double disc with a seed chute feeding between the double disc. The seed drop and fall into the opening held open by the double disc. Behind the double disc is a press wheel for closing the slit. The weight of the drill is carried by the coulter, double disc and press wheel when planting. Typically there is a weight box or suitcase wheels added for additional down pressure. It takes 100 HP to pull an 18 spout no till drill here in NC clay. The coulter will wear out in 2000 acres.

[DaleK]

This is mine. A lot of them don't need coulters anymore, just heavy double disk openers ( a few still use single disks) with scrapers on the disks. Getting the seed in doesn't tend to be the big issue, getting it covered is. Lots of down pressure on the openers and on the press wheels behind to close the trench back up.

Foreground in the picture is winter wheat newly planted into soybean stubble last fall. Can't see it in the picture but the combine is still combining soybeans in the far side of the field over to the left (98 acre field). What you can see in the picture was harvested about 5 hours ago.

[Ross]

We've used our 21 run Belarus drill as a no till drill. No press wheels but it has double disc openers and it is heavy. If I was planting beans I'd want more weight and the press wheels. It plants oats and barley into grazed off pasture for a fast growing fall pasture just fine