The Disk Harrow

Categories: TILLAGE

The purpose of the plow is to break up the soil so

that it will be crumbly and mellow. The frequency with which land

should be thoroughly stirred to full plow-depth depends upon the

condition of the soil and the character of the crops. Oftentimes a disk

or cutaway harrow may replace the plow. Its action is the same as that

of the plow, loosening and turning the soil over. When land has had a

good plowing within the yea , and has not become compact, stirring to a

depth of four inches may give a better seed-bed for some crops than

could be made by use of a plow. This is true of land that has produced

a cultivated crop and is being prepared for a fall-seeding. The gain in

time of preparing ground for oats in the spring makes the use of the

disk or cutaway harrow profitable on mellow corn-stubble land.



There is temptation to carry the substitution of the disk harrow for

the breaking-plow too far. Its use alone would have the same effect as

poor plowing, reducing the depth of the soil. The surface soil, down to

plow-depth, is the chief feeding-ground for plants because it is kept

in good tilth by organic matter and tillage. The depth of this soil

affects the amount of available plant-food and water. The duration of

time between deep plowings depends upon the soil and the crops.

Experience shows that when land has been broken for corn or potatoes or

beans or similar crop, the one plowing may be sufficient for a

succeeding crop. If grass is not seeded with the succeeding crop, it is

best to give another thorough plowing before seeding to grass in August

if the soil is heavy, but in naturally loose soils a disk harrow makes

a better seed-bed.



Two influences favor such undue dependence upon a disk harrow that a

soil may become shallow: the cost of preparing the seed-bed is reduced,

and the saving in moisture may give a better stand of plants when the

harrow takes the place of the plow. The immediate productiveness of a

crop is not an assurance that the method is right: consideration for

the good of the land must be shown. Depth of soil is a requirement of a

good agriculture, and deep plowing is a means to that end. The

looseness of the soil and the character of the season may make

substitution right in one instance and wrong in another. Deep soils,

well filled with organic matter, will bear shallow preparation of a

seed-bed more frequently than thin soils, and yet it is the latter that

may profit most by having its best part kept near the surface at the

time a new sod must be made. The disk harrow has some place as a

substitute for a plow, but when its use results in making a soil more

shallow, the harm is a most serious one.