Fontanelle
Making the difference for you
Adjust Planters When Planting Into Wetter Soils
April 30, 2008
By Neal Borgmeyer
Fontanelle Regional Agronomist
Spring rains have kept some growers out of the fields, which means that now that May has arrived some growers may begin planting in less than ideal conditions. Wet soils are easily compacted, and sidewall compaction in the seed furrow during planting can be a problem. In an ideal world, it would be best to wait for drier soil conditions but it’s hard to wait.
Most sidewall compaction problems occur in wet soils because the press wheels are set with too much down pressure thus over packing the soil below and around the seeds. Spring pressure on the press wheels should be set lighter to avoid this compaction. A planting depth of 2 inches will also help.
If you have good seed-to-soil contact at seed depth, do not be tempted to tighten the down pressure springs trying to close the seed furrow at the top of the ground. There are several attachments to help close the seed furrow on top of the ground. One type of attachment moves some soil over the furrow behind the depth gauge wheels for the press wheels to firm the soil around the seed as well as closing the seed furrow.
Another attachment is a spoked closing wheel that tills in the sidewall around the seed. Some growers use one spoked closing wheel on each row to move the soil around the seed and one standard press wheel to firm the soil while providing depth control.
Another source of compaction occurs because of too much down pressure on the depth gauge wheels, creating compaction as the disk openers form the seed furrow. The double disc openers push the soil outward to open the furrow and the pressure from the depth gauge wheels push the soil down causing the soil to smear along the disc openers on both sides of the seed furrow creating a vertical compaction layer. When this smeared area begins to dry, it becomes hard and smooth, which will severely restrict root development. Plus this hard compacted layer causes the seed slot to re-open as the soil dries out allowing sunlight and herbicides into the furrow, which can lead to seedling emergence problems.