Often, when discussing the work of seeders, you can hear the following opinions:
– this is not a real No-till;
– This is not No-till, but a minimum technology;
– This is 100% No-till, etc.
And such conclusions are drawn almost only by the name of the seeder coulter. When seed drill sellers talk about this, I understand why they do it. But I don’t understand the excessive categorical nature of the farmers themselves.
What is considered by some as No-till technology is not considered by others.
I have already written about the peculiarities of No-till.
What is one of the main distinguishing features of this technology that sets it apart from other technologies?
The difference between no-till and other technologies is that sowing is done in pre-treated soil. So let’s immediately distinguish between the two and not confuse them.
No-till involves direct sowing into untreated soil. The soil remains untouched from sowing to sowing. And direct sowing is only one technological method in the whole system.
Direct sowing inevitably disturbs the soil cover.
Depending on the sowing equipment used, the disturbance can range from complete disturbance (more commonly called direct sowing) to minimal disturbance (often called no-till). And what is better in each specific situation is another question.
The ideal principle would be “no soil disturbance,” as it happens in nature. Only such a principle could be called “100%” No-till. This method is usually used when sowing grasses in pastures on existing sod. In this case, the seeds are not embedded in the soil but remain on the surface. There is also experience with such sowing when sowing cover crops with a combine harvester during grain harvesting. But in this case, you need a spreader, not a seeder.
And besides, if we assume that No-till means only minimal soil damage, then what is such a variant of this technology as Zero-till, which focuses on this very thing?
I think that No-till technology is a more general concept that includes different variations in the degree of soil surface destruction when sowing with different types of coulters. Although it is obvious that the less soil disturbance, the better.
What all these types have in common is direct sowing into untreated soil.
And No-till technology itself is a holistic system in which the specific implementation of only one technological method does not make it “real”.