Soil preparation method and device for implementing it.
A two-pass soil preparation method using plough bodies with double shares and moldboards addresses the need for preserving soil richness and moisture retention by forming windrows and retaining walls, reducing synthetic fertilizer use.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-11-08
- Publication Date
- 2026-03-20
AI Technical Summary
Traditional soil cultivation methods are being questioned due to advancements in genomics and digital technology, necessitating new techniques that preserve soil richness and moisture while reducing disturbance and synthetic fertilizer use.
A soil preparation method involving two passes of plough bodies with double shares and moldboards, creating furrows and windrows to preserve organic matter and form a retaining wall for improved moisture retention and biodiversity, followed by conventional leveling for sowing.
Preserves soil richness and biodiversity, reduces synthetic fertilizer need, and enhances moisture retention by preserving organic matter and forming a retaining wall between furrows.
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Abstract
Description
Title of the invention: Soil tillage method and device for implementing it. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The current period is the scene of major climatic and environmental changes which imply, in agriculture, a questioning of traditional soil cultivation methods.
[0002] This questioning began at the beginning of the century and is based on innovations resulting from technological breakthroughs linked to progress in genomics and digital technology and to farming practices different from traditional plowing.
[0003] Among these major developments, we will mention, on the one hand, the development of plant varieties with desired properties such as resistance to pests or diseases, associated with the creation of more effective cytopharmaceutical molecules under reduced doses, and on the other hand, the development of digitization, allowing for precise control of agricultural equipment and very fine monitoring of worked soils.
[0004] As regards cultivation techniques, mention should be made of those called simplified such as direct seeding or no-till farming in order to respect as much as possible the natural richness of the soils and their ability to retain moisture.
[0005] It is within this framework of the evolution of agricultural practices that the invention is situated. More precisely, the prior art closest to the invention to date is the process called "strip till" or strip cultivation, which consists of opening a passage through the residues by creating a seedbed comparable to conventional tillage, but while leaving the residues on the surface in the inter-row to retain the advantages of direct seeding (no soil disturbance, moisture conservation, reduction of weed emergence).
[0006] The invention relates to a new soil cultivation technique which retains the qualities of simplified cultivation techniques while offering inter-row cultivation. SUBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[0007] To this end, the invention relates to a method for preparing agricultural soil prior to sowing, characterized in that it consists of forming, at a first depth, a plurality of furrows by means of plough bodies with a double share and a double symmetrical moldboard, each spaced from its neighbor by a distance such that it leaves between two adjacent furrows a strip of unworked soil of width at least equal to the width of each furrow and then to form, after a period of eight to fifteen days, at a second depth, a second plurality of furrows, offset from the first by a value equal to half the spacing of the plow bodies.
[0008] The first pass of the plowshares opens furrows by depositing the turned-over soil onto the strip of soil left unworked between the furrows. More precisely, the strip of soil is covered, over approximately half its width, by soil from a moldboard, while the other half of the width of this strip is covered by soil turned over by the moldboard of the adjacent plowshare. These two portions of soil, turned over onto the unworked strip, are butted and placed back-to-back, forming a kind of windrow between each furrow, in the center of which the crop residues are contained, protected from the atmosphere. Before the second pass of the plowshares, a first natural decomposition of these residues (both turned over and unworked) occurs, constituting a reserve of nitrogenous matter while simultaneously preserving organisms thriving on the soil surface.
[0009] The second pass of the plow bodies is carried out after the time necessary for this decomposition, which is on the order of one to two or three weeks, depending essentially on the nature of the soil, the climatic and atmospheric conditions prevailing at the working site, and above all on the experience of the farmer who is best placed to know the behavior of the fields he is working, as is always the case in agriculture. During this second pass, each body cuts a windrow while simultaneously creating a shallow furrow, the same depth as the first furrow or slightly deeper, in the area of the unworked strip of land. A number of adjacent windrows, larger in volume than the first, are again created, largely filling the furrows made during the first pass of the plow bodies.
[0010] It is understood that by this soil treatment, the organic matter it contains is preserved in each windrow, which brings the known advantages in terms of preserving soil richness, its biodiversity and therefore a reduced need for synthetic fertilizers.
[0011] After these two passes, the soil is of course leveled using conventional tools. The soil is then ready for sowing, which can be carried out in due course, depending on the type of plant to be harvested and the climatic conditions favorable to this operation.
[0012] Preferably, the lateral spacing of the double-moldboard plough bodies is greater than the strict width of each body so that on the second pass, a narrow strip of unworked soil is retained between the first and second furrows, which has the advantage of forming a kind of low wall between two adjacent furrows, the presence of which can be beneficial to water retention and prevent to leaching which can occur at the bottom of the furrow, depending on the configuration of the worked terrain.
[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, the depth of the second furrows is greater than that of the first furrows. The inter-furrow wall is then better founded.
[0014] In addition, in order to facilitate the work of each body, the process of the invention includes, in front of the making of the grooves, the opening of a mini groove.
[0015] A second object of the invention lies in the device intended to implement the aforementioned process.
[0016] This device includes a tool consisting of a frame transverse to the direction of work under which are fixed at equidistant from each other a plurality of double-share and double-moldboard plough bodies, the distance separating two adjacent bodies being at least equal to twice the working width of each body.
[0017] The aforementioned chassis also constitutes the support for a tooth preceding each body to open a mini groove before the latter.
[0018] The end bodies are half-bodies with a single share and a single moldboard.
[0019] Other features and advantages will become apparent from the description given below of examples of embodiments of the invention. Brief description of the drawings
[0020] Reference will be made to the attached drawings, among which:
[0021] [Fig. 1] is a diagram illustrating the general structure of the tool for implementing the method according to the invention,
[0022] [Fig.2] is a side view of a body carried by the chassis
[0023] [Fig.3] is the cross-sectional diagram of the soil work carried out by the tool of [Fig.1], during of a first pass with this tool,
[0024] [Fig.4] is a partial diagram illustrating the position of the tool in [Fig.1] during the second passage of the latter,
[0025] [Fig.5] is a diagram identical to [Fig.2] illustrating the soil configuration after the two passes of the tool,
[0026] [Fig.6] illustrates by a cross-section the structure of the soil before sowing. Description of the implementation methods
[0027] With reference to figures 1 and 2, the tool for implementing the method of the invention is of a classic architecture with a transverse beam or frame 1, la, supporting a plurality of plough bodies 2 with double share 2a and double moldboard 2b, with the exception of the end bodies 3 and 4 which are half bodies with single share 3a, 4a whose single moldboards 3b, 4b are turned towards the center of the tool.
[0028] The frame 1 also carries, at the front of each body, in the direction A of the working motion, a tine 5 which opens the soil by forming a mini-furrow followed by the point of the corresponding share. The implement will not be described or illustrated in further detail, as it includes all the features known in mounted multi-body plows, in particular the stone guards and the means for adjusting the working depth. The frame is preferably hinged so that each of its ends can be raised for transport.
[0029] The diagram seen from above in [Fig.1] illustrates the separation E of two adjacent bodies which is at least equal to twice the width C of each body, therefore to the width of the groove formed by this body.
[0030] The method of the invention comprises a first soil preparation phase consisting of forming furrows or furrows of width la (the width separating the end of each share of a body) of a relatively shallow depth (a) (on the order of ten centimeters) and separated by a strip of unworked soil of a width at least equal to the width of the furrow and preferably of a width L greater on the order of 10 cm than that C of each body. The strip of soil turned over 7a by a moldboard 3a spills onto the unworked strip of soil at the same time as the strip 2b turned over by the moldboard 2b of the adjacent body. These two strips come together and form a windrow 8 enclosing the residual vegetation within it.
[0031] Fig. 3 schematically illustrates, in cross-section through plane PP of Fig. 1, the result obtained by this first pass of the tool. The furrows 6 and the windrows 8 formed as described above are shown.
[0032] Figure 4 illustrates the second working phase according to the invention. The position of the tool during the execution of the first phase described above is shown in shading. For the second phase, the tool is offset transversely from this position by a value D equal to half the distance E between two adjacent bodies. The working depth (b) can be the same as that of the first phase but will preferably be slightly greater (approximately one and a half times greater). During this second phase, the passage of the tool splits the swaths 8, turning them over in the furrows 6 in half, along with the strips of soil not worked during the first pass of the tool.It will be noted that, due to a greater width of unworked strip L than the width C of each body, the furrows 10 formed in this second phase of work leave a portion of unworked soil between them and the furrows of the first phase. These portions constitute a kind of retaining wall 11 which, depending on the soil configuration, can advantageously prevent soil leaching, particularly during torrential rains, and more generally prevent moisture retention in the windrows. These retaining walls 9 are visible in [Fig. 5], which is a cross-section of the soil similar to [Fig. 3], further illustrating... the formation of the final windrows 12 which largely fill the first furrows.
[0033] Fig. 6 also illustrates by cross-section the final state of the soil prepared according to the process of the invention after passing a surface leveling tool, ready for sowing.
Claims
Demands
1. A method for preparing agricultural soil prior to sowing, characterized in that it consists of forming, at a first depth (a), a plurality of furrows by means of symmetrical double-share (2a) and double-molder (2b) plough bodies (2), each spaced from its neighbor by a distance (E) whose value is such that it leaves between two adjacent furrows (6) a strip of unworked land of width (L) at least equal to the width (C) of each furrow (6) and then forming, after a period of eight to fifteen days, at a second depth (b), a second plurality of furrows (10), offset from the first by a value equal (D) to half the spacing (E) of the plough bodies (2).
2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the lateral spacing (E) of the double-moldboard plough bodies (2) is greater than twice the strict width (C) of each body, so that on the second pass, a narrow strip of unworked soil is preserved between the first and second furrows, which constitutes between two adjacent furrows (6,10) a kind of low wall (11).
3. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the depth (b) of the second grooves (10) is greater than that (a) of the first grooves (6).
4. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises, in front of the making of the grooves, the opening of a mini groove.
5. Device for implementing the method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a tool consisting of a transverse frame (1, la) with respect to the direction of work (A) under which are fixed at equidistant from each other a plurality of double-share (2a) and double-moldboard (3a) plowing bodies (2), the spacing (E) of two adjacent bodies (2) being at least equal to twice the working width (C) of each body (2).
6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the aforementioned frame (1) also constitutes the support of a tooth (5) preceding each body (2) to open a mini groove before the latter.
7. Device according to any one of claims 5 and 6, characterized in that it comprises at each end a half-body (3,4) whose moldboard (3a, 4a) is turned towards the center of the tool.