Diamond hunter
Member
OK guys will a 50 hp tractor handle a 7 shank chisel plow on groung that hasn't been plowed before or at least not in the last 7 years?
chisel plow
- Thread starter Diamond hunter
- Start date
DocHolladay
Well-Known Member
The consensus that I read while researching, is 10-15HP per shank to get 8" or more in depth. Some people are using your setup and getting pretty good depth, but the tractor is either heavier or the soil has been worked before. results vary by region.
Diamond hunter
Member
OK,stupid question but what if I make more than one pass?How deep do I need to get to plant corn?
DocHolladay
Well-Known Member
I have never planted corn, so I can't answer that. My guess would be 3-5". It also depends on if you are going to drill it or use a seeder(shoulder, ATV, 3 point) and then cultipack.
I run a 9 shank with a 39 hp Kubota with no issues...ground had never been plowed and had only been scratched with a disk once...
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wbpdeer
Well-Known Member
Diamond Hunter,
I think you will be fine but some areas may get more than one pass to get the field prepped like you want. Kubota's picture show it can get you where you want to be. Some of your fields will be less or more difficult than other fields.
I think you will like it and what it can accomplish.
Wayne
I think you will be fine but some areas may get more than one pass to get the field prepped like you want. Kubota's picture show it can get you where you want to be. Some of your fields will be less or more difficult than other fields.
I think you will like it and what it can accomplish.
Wayne
j-bird
Well-Known Member
It's going to depend on the soil, and the weight of the tractor. I see this often when I used to use a 2 bottom plow with my little 30 hp machine. It would work just fine and then as soon as I hit a vein of heavy clay - it turned into a boat anchor! Then the wheels would just spin......I had the power just not the weight! The soil texture has a big impact - course, dry soil will work easily, while a heavy clay soil will require much more power.
I think you will be fine, but I would suggest starting fairly shallow and then work deeper and deeper until you find your limit. Like was stated it may take a few passes as well.
As long as you don't have a hard pan you really only have to work the top few inches of the soil to plant corn. It's actually better to do that as working deeper simply releases soil moisture that you may need later - and thus part of why no-till is so popular (it has other advantages too).
I think you will be fine, but I would suggest starting fairly shallow and then work deeper and deeper until you find your limit. Like was stated it may take a few passes as well.
As long as you don't have a hard pan you really only have to work the top few inches of the soil to plant corn. It's actually better to do that as working deeper simply releases soil moisture that you may need later - and thus part of why no-till is so popular (it has other advantages too).
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
I like no-till farming, but sometimes in certain soil conditions there comes a time when it helps to rip things up. This was in soybeans and I wanted to break it up a little before planting corn this season;
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the tip, I can imagine that compressing those springs would be difficult. This unit is a Brillion that I bought used for $1800, and it's built very heavy duty. At 10' wide it's on the large side for 75 hp, probably the first thing that will break in this setup is the tractor.
Buckly
Well-Known Member
Optimal corn planting is 2 inches and never less than 1-1/2 inches. If anything err deeper. Corn roots will go down pretty deep if needed. If it’s really wet they will stay shallow but if they need more moisture they can go 6- 8 ft deep depending on how hard soil is. That’s why in the mid west corn does so well as they could have 10-15 ft of topsoil Here where I’m at I’ve got super hard pan at about a foot down. Yield is accordingly.
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
Sorry, I resurrected an old thread about chisel plows, that question is 5 years old... But you have good planting advice that will always stay current.
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
I pre-paid my corn seed early winter before the price went up, and I'm not sure why, but for no good reason, just on a whim I bought enough herbicide last summer for this year
I band the fertilizer 2" offset alongside the corn row so it doesn't take nearly as much. So I'm good on cost for this year, but I'm going to have to take a long hard look at next years prices.
