AN INNOVATIVE TOOL FOR IN-ROW CULTIVATION

Abstract

In-row cultivation is the last piece in effective non-chemical weed control on a farm. In many ways, cultivation is the 'crown jewel’; it is there where the skill, ability, observation and timing of a good operator makes or breaks the effort (much more so than the choice of any particular piece of equipment). Successful weed control is the sum of all operations and cultural management. The purpose of the cultural methods (crop rotation, soil fertility management, sanitation, good seed, cover crops, etc.) and early season weed control (so-called blind cultivation) is to achieve the greatest possible crop-weed size differential, especially when there are many hectares to be cultivated. The last stage, in-row cultivation, is the final performance in the whole package of weed control strategies. This paper presents an innovative new tool of an in-row cultivator, a new combination between classic knives (could be shovels, S-tine teeth, C-shank teeth or Trip-shank teeth also) and a special unit of two vertical mini-discs gangs to improve soil cultivation and weed chopping. Research was carried out in the Department of Mechanisation of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest.