Shallow tillage performs a wide range of functions: destroying weeds, distributing and incorporating straw, chopping organic residue and speeding up its breakdown, retaining soil moisture, and triggering the germination of volunteer cereals and weed seeds. Philipp Horsch and Daniel Halbmann offer a short overview of machinery designed for tillage at a depth of 0 to 10 cm. Our interview covers the HORSCH Cultro, Cruiser, Finer, and Joker model ranges, and TerraCut tines.
With cutting blades on twin rollers and low draft power requirements, the Cultro TC has a wide range of applications.
Pictured: the HORSCH Cultro 9 TC
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terraHORSCH: HORSCH has changed a great deal in the field of shallow tillage. What was decisive for that?
Philipp Horsch: We’ve been developing the cultivation theme alongside shallow tillage for roughly 15 years now, above all with heavy machines like the Tiger XL or Cruiser, and also with the short-disc Joker harrow. However, various additions to the product portfolio became necessary as other topics emerged. For example, weed control. Legal restrictions on glyphosate use became key here. So working with or without a roller, and using implements up to 12 m with three-point mounting or towed, four- or six-bar, is now relevant. |
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We’ve also moved toward even shallower tillage and chopping crop residue after harvest, all the way to ideal seedbed preparation on extensive farms (zero tillage). Through several waves of development and design, the Finer and Cultro models were born, wonderfully rounding out our existing machinery range. This gave us a clear, logical picture across the whole shallow-tillage spectrum.
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terraHORSCH: Let’s look at this in more detail, starting with the implement that works at minimum depth: what sets the Cultro TC apart?
Daniel Halbmann: The Cultro TC consists of two adjacent rollers fitted with blades, plus a tine harrow or a roller. In our product portfolio, this is the specialist for chopping crop residue – for example, after harvesting rapeseed, sunflower, corn, and cover crops. The crosswise arrangement of the blades ensures the best possible chopping effect. In the working position, the full weight of the frame is transferred onto the rollers. This provides additional quality in chopping the organic mass. Beyond that, with a working speed of 20 km/h and a corresponding working width, this machine shows high productivity and a low draft-power requirement. The higher the working speed, the better the effect. |
The Cultro TC’s main purpose is chopping organic mass and triggering germination of volunteer cereals and weed seeds. When the Cultro is combined with a heavy tine harrow, it distributes crop residue across the field ideally. That’s because the bladed rollers are excellent at pulling straw out of the stubble. A harrow alone, without bladed rollers, first has to grab the “carpet” of straw with its first row of tines to shift it, and only then “stretch” that mass with the rear rows of tines.
Beyond that, the Cultro is effective for stubble tillage ahead of seeding with the Avatar. It mulches the surface to a minimum depth of 1 to 3 cm, breaks up soil capillaries, and also speeds up the breakdown of organic residue while triggering the germination of weed seeds and volunteer cereals. After this pass, seeding (effectively “at zero”) is then carried out using the Avatar seeding complex, into a dense soil layer where capillaries are preserved, meaning water can still pass through them. Seeding takes place below the mulched layer – this technology conserves moisture to the maximum and works very well in dry regions.
terraHORSCH: And what if full-coverage tillage to a depth greater than 2 cm is needed?
Daniel Halbmann: The Cultro isn’t suited to full-coverage, deep tillage or mechanical weed control. The Cultro TC’s working tools create an impact-and-cutting effect at points or in lines. Thanks to the intensity of the impacts, it destroys volunteer cereals, but not everywhere across the entire area. For controlling volunteer cereals, our product portfolio includes other machines.
The Cruiser is a stubble-cultivation specialist. It’s ideal for post-harvest tillage, ensures optimal straw distribution, and prepares the seedbed.
It can be used as a cultivator for mechanical weed control and spring soil loosening. Pictured: the Cruiser 6 XL
terraHORSCH: What’s the Cruiser best suited for?
Philipp Horsch: The HORSCH Cruiser is the best machine for stubble tillage, with a maximum working depth of up to 15 cm. It’s ideal for post-harvest tillage. In particular, it delivers excellent leveling, giving a good field appearance and superbly distributed crop residue. This is the optimal preparation for further work that ultimately ends in seeding. Seedbed preparation or spring cultivation for mechanical weed control and soil loosening round out this implement’s range of applications.
Daniel Halbmann: There are different Cruiser variants: we have the four-bar, three-point mounted Cruiser SL, and the towed six-bar Cruiser XL.
The four-bar Cruiser SL, with three-point mounting, is somewhat lighter. It’s a compact, easy-to-operate alternative for universal shallow tillage, mechanical weed control, and seedbed preparation. Of course, the four-bar design does have certain limits for single-pass tillage – the field after the combine’s pass needs to be very clean.
The six-bar Cruiser XL is the absolute specialist when it comes to mixing quality, distribution, and, above all, leveling the field in a single pass. High clearance in the tine-shank area, at 700 mm, allows a large volume of crop residue to pass through. The machine can be fitted with various types of tines.
When the main task of stubble cultivation is distributing straw and leveling the field, you won’t go wrong with the Cruiser – at least, if you’re planning just one pass after harvest. Thanks to its long design, leveling is another plus for the Cruiser.
In my view, an integral part of the optimal stubble-cultivation implement is reverse packing, to trigger germination of volunteer cereals. That, in turn, requires a suitable roller. And here we offer a wide selection of optimal rollers for both shallow and deep packing. Roller choice always depends on soil type. The Cruiser’s tine portfolio is oriented toward stubble cultivation. We equip the Cruiser with tines in four different variants:
- 5 cm wide HM tines with a working depth of up to 15 cm are ideal for seedbed preparation and spring soil loosening;
- 8 cm wide HM tines with a working depth of up to 10 cm do a good job of stubble tillage, distributing and incorporating crop residue;
- 10 cm wide HM tines, with a maximum working depth of 10 cm, are designed for stubble tillage and seedbed preparation on very light soils, for ideal mixing and incorporation of organic mass;
- goose-foot shares for shallow mechanical weed control and full-width cutting at a working depth starting from 2 cm.
terraHORSCH: What’s the difference between the SL and XL?
Daniel Halbmann: The Cruiser XL is a bit too long for full-coverage shallow cutting. A shorter implement is better suited for this, one that reliably maintains working depth both at the front and rear. Thanks to its more compact design, the Cruiser SL handles this better. The Cruiser comes standard with a roller (the roller also serves to set the machine’s working depth) and has a longer design, so it’s limited in its use for mechanical weed control. The Finer SL is the better choice for that.
terraHORSCH: So is the Finer SL the first specialist in mechanical weed control?
Daniel Halbmann: Exactly. The Finer SL is the ideal machine for mechanical weed control. It was designed for exactly that, and that’s what it does best. Partly thanks to its sturdy frame design. But above all, thanks to the compact four-row tine arrangement and its overall compact design, and excellent depth guidance both at the front and rear of the frame. Beyond that, the machine can be used without a roller. A defining feature is that the two-row harrow can be hydraulically adjusted for working depth and tine attack angle aggressiveness while on the move. For example, the harrow can be adjusted on the go depending on how much straw is lying on the field, or on other conditions. The operator doesn’t need to leave the cab to change anything externally, and can then simply continue working.
The tines cope well even under difficult application conditions and ensure full-coverage cutting. For difficult conditions or heavy soils, the tines can be fitted with double springs, doubling the tripping force. This lets you increase the working tools’ resistance to the soil and achieve a better cutting angle. This makes it possible to work at minimum working depth.
The Finer SL can be used year-round. It’s optimally suited for creating a black fallow, since it delivers full-coverage tillage and breaks capillarity.
A wide selection of rollers is available for reverse packing. Pictured: the Finer 7 SL
terraHORSCH: What else characterizes this implement?
Daniel Halbmann: This three-point mounted machine has low weight. So in spring it does a good job breaking up a crust and treating winterkilled cover crops. If you run one more full-coverage cutting pass, you can skip using glyphosate.
With the Finer SL, you can seed cover crops, or, with seeding coulters fitted, seed rapeseed and cereals when moisture is too high. Overall, the Finer is suited for tillage in any season.
If the Finer SL is additionally fitted with a roller, it can handle seedbed preparation. In that combination, it also effectively compacts the soil at the seed bed level.
terraHORSCH: Are there any limitations on the Finer SL’s use?
Daniel Halbmann: Because of its compact design, crop residue doesn’t pass through it well. So stubble tillage with this implement is only possible once the straw has been removed from the field, leaving a minimal amount of organic mass on it. And when a hassle-free stubble tillage pass is needed, choosing the Finer isn’t the optimal option. That’s because you’d have to make a lot of compromises. You’d need to take into account the nature of the stubble, the amount of straw in the field, the presence of lodged-cereal patches, and so on. And with details like these, this is no longer “hassle-free” work. A stubble-cultivation implement shouldn’t add problems, since its job is to prepare the soil well for the next seeding pass and lay the foundation for a future high yield.
Philipp Horsch: When we want to work “hassle-free,” it’s better to use machines from the Joker model range. The short-disc harrow is an implement that plays a central role in shallow tillage worldwide.
terraHORSCH: What conditions is it designed for?
Daniel Halbmann: Our Joker can be used for post-harvest tillage under practically any conditions. You don’t even need to assess how much organic mass is left on the field or how tall the cover crops have grown. It has rotating working tools and sufficient clearance for trash to pass through. Under certain conditions, the Joker can even chop crop residue and properly incorporate it into the soil. What, in my opinion, really sets a disc harrow apart is the ability to work at shallow depth while still properly incorporating organic mass into the soil. On the other hand, this implement doesn’t distribute mass along and across the field quite as well.
There are also certain limits regarding full-coverage tillage. Stubble tillage happens at a working depth of 4 to 6 cm. But full-coverage tillage with a disc harrow requires a working depth of no less than 8 cm. And this applies to any short-disc harrow. Full-coverage tillage with a disc harrow is only possible when the triangle formed by the cross-section and fracture of the soil layer is smaller than the set working depth. Even then, you need to watch how it all actually works in the field, and whether full-coverage tillage is really being achieved.
On the other hand, for stubble tillage it’s actually very good that treatment can be shallow, while mixing and creating contact between the straw and the soil remains very intense, which speeds up the breakdown of organic mass. Beyond that, the Joker creates ideal conditions for volunteer cereal germination. At the same time, you can work at high speed. The draft-power requirement is lower compared to a cultivator. What’s more, the Joker is especially energy-efficient and needs little diesel per hectare.
It’s rare to need to deal with a large amount of weeds right after harvest, since under traditional technology the field is generally clean. The soil layer is fully cut only on the second or third working pass. So the Joker is very effective for stubble tillage. However, care should be taken to ensure straw is properly distributed across the field. If that isn’t achieved right away, it’s recommended to make another pass over the field to distribute the mass evenly.
The Joker is fitted with powerful, maintenance-free roller bearings. They’re designed for a long service life.
The Joker always has a roller, which compacts the soil and triggers volunteer-cereal emergence. There’s a similarity here with the Cruiser, which is also ideal for stubble tillage. With the one difference being that the Cruiser is able to distribute the straw mass in a single working pass, whereas the Joker is synonymous with “hassle-free,” “fast,” and “low-cost.”
The Joker is optimal for shallow tillage, triggering volunteer-cereal germination, breaking soil capillaries, incorporating crop residue, and preparing the seedbed.
Pictured: the Joker 3 CT
terraHORSCH: We also mentioned TerraCut tines. What’s their range of application?
Daniel Halbmann: TerraCut tines are the working tools for our cultivator model ranges fitted with TerraGrip shanks. TerraCut tines are designed for shallow, full-width cutting at a depth of 2 to 6 cm. They deliver complete cutting of the soil layer at that working depth.
These tines are less suited to stubble tillage. They were designed, above all, for weed control. The tines have a sturdy design. They’re mounted on TerraGrip shanks – rigid shanks resistant to lateral deflection, which only trip when they hit an obstacle (a stone, and so on). Otherwise, they stay stably in the ground. TerraGrip shanks like these let our clients achieve full-coverage cutting even on the densest soils, such as clover stands, in a single pass. That is, full-coverage tillage can be achieved even under the most difficult conditions, with a dense plant cover and developed root system, as in virgin soils.
These tines are optimal if, say, a client doesn’t want to buy a Finer for this purpose, but still wants full-coverage shallow tillage. For clients and businesses not yet ready to buy a separate implement, this is the optimal upgrade option for a cultivator. This way, a subsoiler can be turned into a shallow-tillage cultivator.
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terraHORSCH: How should a farmer set the right priorities and choose the optimal working implement for themselves?
Philipp Horsch: An exchange of information and consultations between the farmer, our dealer, and, if possible, our own employee, helps with that. Together we can quickly figure out which implement will best meet the farmer’s needs and expectations. Daniel Halbmann: Yes, that’s true. We offer four different machines for shallow tillage, plus the option of upgrading any cultivator with TerraCut tines. |
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There’s no universal implement that’s equally suited to everyone. After all, farming conditions differ significantly, as do farmers’ needs and management goals. It always depends on what the farmer wants to achieve with a particular technological operation. Based on that, you should choose the cultivator that suits local conditions and that can handle the working task most effectively. And when a farmer wants to combine many different things, they have to accept certain compromises. Some compromises are certainly possible, if they’re positive for a given operation.
Philipp Horsch: We’re firmly convinced that today our portfolio offers a very well-balanced, optimal range of tillage machinery. With it, we’re able to provide farmers with sustainable support amid the current challenges in crop production.
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