An even seedbed floor provides even emergence and better yield potential.
Most farmers understand the importance of maintaining a healthy seedbed. But what is the seedbed floor? And how can you optimize the agronomic quality of yours to reach full yield potential?
If the seedbed is the home you’ve built to foster early crop development, think of the seedbed floor as the foundation. The seedbed floor is the narrow layer between worked and unworked soil, and it marks the depth where the seed is placed.
Finding the seedbed floor
Finding your seedbed floor is the first step to optimization. Perform a “kill stall” during a normal operation to wipe away the top layer of loose soil to reveal the seedbed floor behind the tillage tool. Check for a flat surface and consistency in depths between the front and rear of the machine.
What the seedbed floor is not
It’s easy to mistake the seedbed floor as a layer of compaction. However, creating a compaction layer requires 250 to 300 psi. When correctly adjusted and operated under the right conditions — soil that is moist but not wet — sweeps on a field cultivator will not exert sufficient psi to create a compaction layer. Avoid working in fields that are too wet to create a high-efficiency seedbed with a level and smooth seedbed floor.
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