Knife opener for use with an agricultural implement

Abstract

A knife opener includes a pair of flared blades designed to cut spaced, but paired furrows. The knife opener is particularly well-suited for use in no-till or minimum-till agricultural operations primarily in conjunction with seed and / or fertilizer placement adjacent a soil cut-line generally in the direction of travel. In addition to being angled away from the main body of the knife, one of the blades is angled forward and the other blade is angled rearward. Seed and / or fertilizer dispensing receivers may be associated with each of the blades.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No. 12 / 203,269, filed Sep. 3, 2008.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to knife opener which may be used as part of no-till or minimum-till farming practices primarily for placement in the ground of seed and / or fertilizer and other materials.[0003]Important advantages have been found in soil preparation, and seed and fertilizer delivery in employing no-tilling or minimum tilling methods which cause minimum disturbance to the soil. This is particularly important in drier soil conditions where the soil is subject to moisture and topsoil loss if conventional tilling methods are used. It is usually desirable when employing no-till farming practices to disturb the soil surface as little as possible. The surface will be covered with the residue from previous crops, and the surface layer will contain old root structure. This plant material can serve to retain ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Broadcasting the fertilizer on the surface is a method that does not disturb the surface, but it can be inefficient as much of the fertilizer can be lost due to runoff surface water.

If the seed is placed in close proximity to a high concentration of fertilizer, burning of the newly germinated plant can result.

In the case of the former, the knife opens a relatively large furrow thereby resulting in greater soil disturbance.

In the case of the latter, the flow of residue around the knife can be impeded.

If the flow of residue is impeded that residue tends to collect around the knife and is dragged with the knife as the implement is towed.

Not only can this residue collection impair operation of the implement, it also removes the desired moisture retaining cover that may be provided by the residue.

While disk openers have the ability to cut through most residue, some crop residue, such as straw, may not cut easily, and as a result may be pushed into the furrow, a result commonly called hair-pinning.

Additionally, effective no-till disc openers can be quite costly.

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