Conventional-Till Seed Drill

Conventional-Till Seed Drill: General Information

A seed drill is a sowing device that puts and covers seeds in the soil with precision. Conventional tillage is the standard tillage for the specific location and the specific crop.

A conventional till seed drill consists of a hopper arranged above a series of tubes set at selected distances from each other. The seed is placed and measured in rotatable fluted paddles and passes from the hopper to the tubes. The rotation takes place through a geared drive attached to the drill's wheels. Changing the gear ratio alters the seed rate. Each tube creates a hole of the specified depth, drops in the specified number of seeds and covers the holes over.

The conventional till seed drill allows for systematic and controlled cultivation. It allows sowing seeds in well-spaced and uniform rows, with accurate depths and consistent seed rates. This improves productivity, allowing farmers to complete the sowing process without backtracking and also easy weeding at a later stage. It also increases the rate of germination and improves crop yield up to eight times.

History

The earliest reference to seed drills came in Renaissance Europe, with the Venetian senate patenting Camillo Torello’s seed drill in 1566. The earliest conventional seed drill that resembles their modern counterparts was introduced by Jethro Tull of England in 1701. Since then seed drills have become advanced and sophisticated but the basic technology remains the same

Manufacturers

Today, the top manufacturers of conventional seed drills are Kuhn, Lemken, Overum Tive, Sulky RECO, Accord and KRM.

Kuhn’s Integra and Venta seed drills incorporates grooved volumetric rollers that provides accurate seed metering even on sloping land. A popular model is TI 401 which comes with a 4 metre wide air seeder, post emergence marker, FS-2 control box and a plastic hopper.

Lemken’s Solitair 8 is an ideal for medium sized farms. It provides working width of 3, 3.5 and 4 metres and allows combination with many powered and non-powered tillage implements. The seed hopper has a capacity of 1850 litres.

KRM Roger R305 is a popular model. It has a 4 metre wide air seeder with coulters on three rows, rear following harrow, boot markers and pre and post emergence markers.