After an initial flourish, strip-till cultivation has taken time to establish in the UK, but as the benefits of working only the soil where the crop will grow become more relevant, it is gaining traction with more manufacturers offering a solution. Only disturbing the soil in the seeding zone can improve soil health, while allowing harvest machinery to travel more easily, reducing damage to the soil.
Broadly speaking, strip till maize is based on a deep loosening leg and surface working tool, which conditions the soil in and below the seeding zone to provide a better growing environment for the plant, boosting yield potential.
Seedbed preparation can be achieved in fewer passes saving time and costs, but there is also the opportunity for a pass in the autumn, followed by a ‘freshen up’ in spring allowing air into the soil, to aid the drying and warming process for row crops on heavier soil types.
UK field trials
In final trials this season, Weaving Machinery has designed its Rota Strip for use in front of or combined with a planter. The company’s own low disturbance loosening legs working to 20cm deep are followed directly by a rotavator supplied by Concept Machinery which creates tilth before the resulting seedbed is consolidated by a packer roller.
The Rota Strip can work on stubble, cultivated ground and into vegetation such as a standing cover crop and sales director, Simon Weaving explains: “We are seeing a lot of interest for regenerative approaches working in cover crops where a subsoiling leg can lift out compaction beforein line with the legs – tills the soil in the strip without smearing. It’s ideal for maize, as it allows the root to penetrate the soil, and can help to dry out wet soils ahead of planting.” Drilling can take place within a couple of weeks or even days, using GPS to follow the strips if necessary on cultivated ground; in the right conditions the maize drill can be fitted for a one pass operation, the up and over linkage design making a more close coupled outfit on headland turns. Weaving Machinery is also developing its own maize drill to work with the cultivator.
