Stubble cultivators – what are they?
A stubble cultivator, also known as a grubber, plowing unit or a stubble breaker, is certainly a machine familiar to a person who has been dealing with agriculture for a long time. The simplest stubble units are primarily used to break up the top layer of soil immediately after harvesting a crop, known as stubble. The main purpose of such a procedure is to mix the crop residues with the soil and to stimulate the germination of volunteer cereals or other crops grown in the main crop. Pre-mixing of crop residues with the soil initiates their decomposition, thus increasing the humus layer in the soil. Stubble units usually consist of two rows of ridges with coulters and side shares, followed by a row of harrowing discs and, at the very end, a roller designed to press down loose soil.
Ploughless cultivators
No-till units, commonly known as no-tillers, are slightly different from standard stubble units. The main difference here is an additional row of ridges. A no-till aggregate therefore consists of three or four rows of ridges with lateral shares, followed by a row of harrows and at the very end by a cultivating roller whose task is to press down and level the loosened soil. AGROLAND no-tillers are equipped with three rows of ridges, which minimize the risk of blockages and clogging during intensive mulch work. No-tillers successfully perform in deep cultivation replacing the plow. This does not mean that they can’t be used as typical stubble units, however their main task is to loosen and mix the soil in its deeper layers and prepare the field for sowing without the use of a plow. Such technology works especially well on lighter soils where water deficits are definitely more noticeable. Thanks to the use of a no-till unit, the soil is sufficiently loosened for the following crop and at the same time not turned enough to reduce evaporation and thus water losses to a minimum.
Stubble (plowing) aggregates, no-till aggregates – optimal working parameters
Stubble (plowing) aggregates have slightly higher power requirements than, for example, disc harrows. This is due to the fact that the ridges with coulters put more resistance to the tractor than the discs in disc harrows. The smallest stubble harrow from AGROLAND with a width of 2.6 m can be handled by a tractor with a power of around 100 horsepower, achieving satisfactory performance. The situation is slightly different with no-till aggregates. With the use of an additional row of ridges for stubble cultivation we need a tractor with the power of about 120 horsepower, while after removing the side shares, in order to achieve satisfactory working parameters and well prepare the soil for sowing we need a tractor with the power of about 140 horsepower. In the case of stubble units, the optimal working parameters are: speed – from 8 to 12 km/h and working depth from 10 to 15 m, while in the case of plowless units: speed – from 8 to 12 km/h and working depth from 20 to even 30 cm.
Manufacturer of stubble and no-till aggregates – AGROLAND
AGROLAND Skomlin is a manufacturer of agricultural machinery, mainly cultivation equipment, including stubble and no-till units. Our offer includes typical two-row stubble units (RAPTOR II), stubble units for the front TPO (RAPTOR FRONT) and no-till units for deep cultivation (KRYPTON) with working widths from 2.5 to 6 m. Each of our aggregates is equipped with a row of harrowing discs and maintenance-free harrowing disc hub housings. As a standard, our aggregates have tines on a screw (rupture) protection, while optionally you can configure the machine on a NON-STOP spring protection (KRYPTON PLUS, RAPTOR PLUS). AGROLAND company as a manufacturer of stubble and no-till aggregates has developed a solid position on the domestic and foreign markets. Our machines perform well on any type of soil.