Harrowing the soil - what exactly does it mean and agrotechnical requirements

To effectively cultivate crops, farmers prepare the soil. The set of measures includes various procedures, one of which is harrowing the soil - that is, grinding the top layer of soil to a finer consistency in order to retain the moisture necessary for the full development of crops. To carry out harrowing, the farmer will need special equipment, which comes in different types.

What is it and what is it for?

According to agrotechnical requirements, the soil must be prepared before sowing seeds.The process of loosening the earth using special devices (harrows) is called harrowing. Such an event allows you to increase the efficiency of growing crops.

They begin this procedure in the spring, as soon as the snow cover melts. The main purpose of harrowing is to seal off the moisture necessary for successful seed germination and development of young shoots.

The complex of these measures includes not only grinding the earth to the required consistency, but also leveling the surface of the field. In some cases, harrowing is carried out selectively, affecting only those areas of the sown area where the soil is dry. Thanks to the procedure, less moisture evaporates from the soil.

The main functions of harrowing include the following:

• soil moisture retention;
• elimination of the crust that forms on the soil surface and impedes the germination of seed material;
• leveling the surface of the sown area;
• stimulation and restoration of the activity of beneficial microorganisms populating the soil;
• saturation of the earth with oxygen;
• thinning out too dense seedlings of cultivated plants;
• destruction of weeds.

Agrotechnical requirements for harrowing are as follows:

• the proportion of damaged seedlings after the procedure should not exceed 3%;
• the diameter of soil particles does not exceed 0.03 m;
• all the earth is broken into small lumps;
• weeds in cultivated areas planned for planting winter and perennial plants have been completely destroyed.

Types of harrowing

There are different types of agricultural operations; depending on the situation and the goal, the farmer makes a choice in favor of a specific type of harrowing. Each method of leveling a planting area has both advantages and disadvantages.There are three methods of harrowing the soil: driven, figured and transversely diagonal.

Zagonnoe

The principle of this harrowing method is that with each passage of the territory, the harrows go beyond the edge of the field. If the cultivation of a plot of land is carried out in “two tracks”, then the first pass is made along, and the second – across the plowing line. In this case, on the plan the cultivated area looks like an elongated rectangle.

The main disadvantage of this method of harrowing a field is considered to be a large number of idle runs and irrational use of equipment resources and time.

Figured

With this method of processing the sown area, harrowing is carried out in a circle, which avoids empty runs and makes the most efficient use of the farmer’s technical resources and time. On the plan, the plot looks like a square, and the greater the similarity with this geometric shape, the higher the skill of the farmer who performs this agricultural operation. If the procedure is carried out in “two tracks”, then during the second pass the unit moves diagonally to the strip that was processed initially.

Transverse diagonal

Compared to previous harrowing methods, the cross-diagonal variety is considered the most effective. The “two-track” method of loosening the soil does not allow achieving maximum uniformity of tillage and completely leveling the field surface due to the fact that one path coincides with the direction of plowing.Even a very experienced farmer will not be able to achieve perfect leveling of the territory during figured or driven harrowing.

If the transverse-diagonal technique is used, this allows you to orient the course of the teeth separately from the direction of plowing. As a result, the quality of soil treatment is improved and almost perfect leveling of the area on which crops are subsequently sown is guaranteed.

Types of harrow

Several types of harrows are used in agriculture:

1. Mesh. Ideal for leveling areas with a large amount of weeds. Used from sowing seeds until the first shoots of crops appear. Mesh varieties have proven themselves well when working on heavy soils.
2. Dental. After treatment with this type of harrow, the soil acquires a homogeneous structure. They can also be used to incorporate fertilizers into the soil and control weeds.
3. Disk. The design of the disc harrow differs from previous varieties. Cutting discs, rotating while the equipment moves, cut layers of soil, simultaneously mixing and loosening the soil.

Features of harrowing different crops

According to the timing of the work, it differs as follows:

1. Early spring. Work begins after the soil has reached physical ripeness. The purpose of the agrotechnical procedure is to block moisture in the soil.
2. Harrowing of winter and perennial plants. For this procedure, which revitalizes microbiological processes, light or medium harrows are used.
3. Pre-sowing. The procedure is carried out using tooth harrows and is often combined with field cultivation.
4. Post-sowing. It is divided into two types - pre-emergence and post-emergence.

Potatoes and corn are harrowed after the first sprouts appear; this is done 2 or more times if necessary.