Orchards are not just picturesque landscapes as they are also meticulously managed ecosystems that bear the fruits of human labor and nature’s blessings. Successful orchard management requires a delicate balance between nurturing the soil, maintaining tree health, and maximizing fruit yield.
Among the various practices that play a crucial role in orchard management, tillage stands out as a fundamental task. The art of orchard tillage involves the preparation and care of the soil in which fruit trees thrive. It is a process that influences everything from tree growth and health to the quality and quantity of the fruits produced.
In this article, we are going to discuss the different types of orchard tillage methods, exploring the machinery and equipment used for each approach. With the right knowledge, you can make informed decisions to ensure the long-term prosperity of your orchard.
Types of orchard tillage
Depending on the necessity or purpose, various orchard tillage types are carried out. Here are some of them:
- Conventional tillage – Conventional tillage consists of incorporating or burying most of the crop residues into the soil. This approach typically consists of multiple passes in fields. The moldboard plow is typically used first, followed by other tools or implements. The use of moldboard plows would either be open-field tillage or done prior to putting in a new orchard. Conservation tillage encourages soil aeration, water penetration, and temperature. It minimizes erosion by protecting the soil surface and letting the water penetrate instead of running off.
- Minimum tillage – Minimum tillage is one of the common tilling practices in orchards. It involves a relatively minimal soil disturbance. It aims to reduce the amount of tillage necessary to ensure a good seedbed, fast germination, and suitable and favorable growing conditions.
- No-till – As the name suggests, no-till involves growing crops or pastures without tillage, thus preventing erosion, leaving crop residues, slowing down evaporation, allowing better water absorption, and maintaining the microorganisms, all of which are critical to soil health. No-till is typically used in open-field farming. While this system is also commonly done in orchards, it is mainly to discourage erosion during winter, and whatever weeds have emerged will be either shredded or disked under.
- Deep tillage – Deep tillage is performed below the normal tilling depth to modify the physical and chemical properties of the soil. Hardpan soils, in particular, can benefit from this type of tillage since they have a dense layer that has very few (if any) large pores like cracks and old root channels. Large pores allow the water to infiltrate deep into the soil, which can help promote root growth. Deep tillage also turns out large clods (lumps of earth and clay) and disintegrates them, improving the soil’s structure. The deep tillage in an existing orchard would typically be if the grower wasn’t getting proper water absorption or drainage and wanted to allow the water to settle in during winter.
- Organic and sustainable tillage – While conventional tillage may be essential to crop growth and health, excessive tillage can disrupt the soil structure, thus accelerating soil erosion and loss of nutrients. The tillage of wet silt loam soil increases the bulk and density of the soil, which ultimately hinders crop growth and productivity. So, in this technique, conventional tillage can be combined with more organic and sustainable practices, such as mulching, to compensate for the loss of moisture and nutrients caused by excessive tilling.
Factors that influence the choice of tillage method
When deciding on a tillage implement to use for your orchard, consider the following factors:
- Soil type – It is important to determine which type of soil your orchard has when deciding on the correct tillage method. For example, hard soils or soils that contain lots of clay can benefit from deep tillage.
- Crop rotation – Crop rotation can also be a factor in determining the right type of tillage method. For instance, if you have a two or three-year crop rotation, you can get by with a less aggressive tillage method for managing crop residues. But if you’re in your third year or more of planting a single type of crop continuously, there are fewer options for tillage implements that can deal with heavy residue. Besides, you may not want to make any big changes to your farm or orchard.
- Soil moisture – If the soil is too wet for proper fracturing, and if you are going to till it, you may be causing damage to the soil’s valuable structure. Avoid tilling in excessively wet soil as compaction may occur, leading to poor root penetration. It is best to leave the soil to dry first before tilling. If the soil has poor or improper drainage, you may choose light tillage passes with a disk or field cultivator before planting. This technique dries the surface enough for planting without causing excessive moisture loss.
- Slope – If your farm or orchard has more than 3% slope, you should go for a less deep and aggressive tillage pass. Some farmers choose not to till the tops and sides of slopes in the middle of the fields, leaving the crop residue to do the job of protecting the soil and retaining its moisture.
Machinery for orchard tillage
Here are some of the primary implements for tilling the soil in your orchard:
1) Plows and disc harrows
Plows are the most basic tillage equipment and have been around for ages. They use blades that cut through the soil to create furrows. Plows can be implemented for medium-depth and deep tillage.
Disc harrows, or simply discs, consist of rows of disc blades that are fixed on a frame. Disc harrows work much similarly to plows, but they are generally lighter and won’t till as deeply as plows do. Usually, one pass with disc harrows is enough to get the job done.
The DMX Disc Harrow from Ermo is used for “undergrounding” or mixing crop residue through simultaneously processing a minimum tillage. It is a versatile machine that can be used on both hard and unworked soil.
2) Rotary tillers
A rotary tiller consists of a set of revolving blades or rotors affixed to the engine to draw through the soil. It is typically used as a tractor implement for farming.
The Falc FL3000 tillers are being heavily used in orchards. They till down only about 4” just to break up the ground and turn under any debris on the surface. These tillers have a smooth roller on the rear of the machine to make the floor of the orchard smooth. This is typically done just before harvest, so it is easier to retrieve the nuts once they’ve been shaken from the trees and put into windrows.
Disc tillers, or speed discs, are gaining popularity to do the same thing as you can travel at a faster forward speed, 3 to 4 miles per hour (mph), and you get similar results. The speed discs cost much less than a regular rotary tiller.
3) Subsoilers and chisel plows
A subsoiler is a type of plow with no moldboard, used to loosen the soil at some certain depth below the surface without turning it over. It is so named as it cuts and breaks the soil apart below the normal tillage depth of 100 to 200 millimeters (0.1 to 0.2 meters). A chisel plow is another type of tillage implement that works pretty much in the same way as a subsoiler does. The subsoiler and chisel plow look quite similar to each other, except that the former has a much stronger shank (leg) to resist the stronger force needed to till the soil at a greater depth.
4) No-till seeders
A no-till seeder sows crop seeds and mixes fertilizer into the soil without plowing or tilling it. Examples of no-till seeders are no-till drill seeders, which are typically very heavy drills that place the seed at a specific depth and then press the soil back to the seed so that it can have contact with the soil.
Solex offers a number of no-till seeders, such as:
- Kasco KED-72 Eco-Drill – The Eco-Drill is the most rugged and durable machine in Kasco’s line. A row of straight coulters slices the ground, leaving a narrow seed trench with almost no disruption of the soil. A second row of concave opener blades with a precision seed placement device follows, ensuring exact seed placement within the specified rows. A full row of heavy-duty cultipacker wheels run behind the openers for premium seed-to-soil contact. Like many seeders, the Eco-Drill uses a seed metering system to meet the required or desired row spacing and inter-row distance.
- Kasco Versa-Drill No-Till Seeder – With a smaller frame, the Versa-Drill is the perfect fit for compact tractors and ATVs. This no-till drill features Kasco’s patented “Walking Beam Axle,” allowing the drill to follow the contour of even the most uneven terrain consistently. As with the Eco-Drill, the Versa-Drill offers a row of slicing blades followed by a row of opening coulters. Our seed placement device guarantees exact seed placement within the 9” rows. Like all Kasco drills and overseeders, the Versa-Drill is ground-driven from the heavy cast iron cultipacker wheels in the rear. The Versa-Drill is available in either a three-point machine of 4-foot or 6-foot width or in an ATV pull-type machine of 4-foot wide. Optional legumes or warm-season grass boxes are available for most machines.
How to maintain and care for orchard tillage equipment
The not-so-secret to every farming tool and equipment’s long useful life is regular care and maintenance, which are also a good way to avoid expensive repairs.
- Regular inspection and cleaning – It is tough to spot signs of wear and tear and breakdowns when your tillage equipment is too dirty. So, regularly inspect your equipment for dirt, stains, oil leaks, etc., that might have built up over time. It is also essential to do the proper cleaning, such as dusting, vacuuming, filter cleaning, etc., to ensure that your tillage equipment will look great and work properly. Inspections also allow you to determine whether your tillage equipment has signs of wear and damage. Strange noises, friction, vibration, overheating, etc., are signs that your equipment must be fixed as soon as possible before a major breakdown occurs.
- Lubrication and oil changes – Remember to lubricate your tillage equipment to reduce friction and extend the useful lifespan of your tillage equipment and its parts. It is important to use a quality lubricant and clean off any mess and build-up of dirt before applying the new lubricant.
- Storage and off-season maintenance -- Many farm equipment are used on a regular basis, while others are used only seasonally. After using your orchard tillage equipment, you might not be operating it again for a long time until after the harvest season, so it’s advisable to store your equipment in the meantime. Proper off-season storage of your tillage equipment will help extend its lifespan, increase its value, and reduce your operating costs. You may have to take it out of the storeroom to clean it on occasion.
Conclusion
Tilling is essential when orchard farmers need to break and turn the soil. It improves the condition and quality of the soil by breaking it down and increasing its porosity, improving its overall quality in preparation for planting commercially important trees. We hope this article will help you figure out which tilling method and type of tillage equipment will work best for you, depending on the factors that can help you make an informed decision. And if you have already acquired tillage equipment, don’t forget to clean and maintain them to extend their useful life.