GB1601779A

GB1601779A - Method and device for mechanically producing seed or plant drills

Info

Publication number: GB1601779A
Application number: GB16356/78A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1977-04-25
Filing date: 1978-04-25
Publication date: 1981-11-04
Also published as: CH630226A5; AT365396B; FR2388478A1; FR2388478B3; DE2718303A1; NL7804433A; ATA277478A

Abstract

In order to make the sowing or planting furrows in fields covered with living or dead plants and/or crop residues and/or fertiliser, for each sowing or planting furrow (4) a narrow strip (1) of the uppermost soil layer is detached from the subsoil, shifted laterally and deposited on the adjacent untouched field strip (2). The sowing or planting material is then, in the same operation or later, sown or planted on to the floor of the sowing or planting furrow (4) which is obtained thereby and which is freed of plant and crop residues and fertiliser and is additionally loosened and/or tilled. The apparatus used for this purpose has a plurality of disc-shaped implements (6) in a pendulously suspended carrier designed as an elongate gearbox (12) which is held by means of sliding shoes (14) at an adjustable distance from the ground surface. The output shaft (25) of the gear extends transversely relative to the direction of travel of the apparatus and is drive-connected to a further rotatably mounted shaft (16), the centre axis of which forms an acute angle with the centre axle of the output shaft (25) and on the free end (16a) of which the disc-shaped implements (6) are fastened exchangeably. <IMAGE>

Description

(54) METHOD AND DEVICE FOR MECHANICALLY PRODUCING SEED OR PLANT DRILLS (71) I, ERNST WEICHEL of Bahnhofstrasse 1, 7326 Heiningen, German Federal Republic, of German nationality, do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- This invention relates to a method for mechanically producing drills for the planting of seeds of juvenile plants, such as seedlings, bulbs or tubers, in top soil having a covering of plants, such as weeds, plant residues, such as stubble, or manure, and to a tractor attachment adapted to carry out the method.

Most of the hitherto known methods for mechanically producing seed or plant drills required that as a preliminary the soil has been completely ploughed or loosened, finely crumbled and at least substantially freed from plant growth or harvest residues. For this reason it has been necessary first either to plough under or break up and mix in with the soil the organic material, such as living or dead plants or harvest residues, such as straw, turnip leaves or straw-like manure, which is present on the surface of the soil, because it would not decompose between the processes of ploughing and loosening of the soil. As a rule there must be no substantial organic residues left on the surface of the soil at the time of sowing. Even when using the known disc seeders there must not be present on the soil surface too much organic or straw-containing material, so that the seed corn may be introduced into the soil at even depth without gaps and without periodic blocking of the seeders.

Until now agricultural experts have always started from the premise that prior to planting or sowing the main crops, for example corn, potatoes, sugar beet or maize it is necessary to plough or to cut through the earth at the required depth, the soil being covered with living or dead plants or plant residues, in order either to plough this material under or break it up and mix it in with the soil. However, the ploughing-in of organic materials has great disadvantages: In deeper layers of soil it acts like a foreign body when it decomposes anaerobically in the absence of air. When, for example, green plant manure, straw or other organic fertiliser has been spread by a machine to form a composite mat on land which is subsequently ploughed, the rising of water from lower layers of the soil into upper layer is distrupted by the capillary effect of the organic material. Ploughing with turn-ploughs, particularly on heavy soil or soil poor in humus, therefore becomes more harmful the deeper one ploughs, despite the breaking up and deepening of the ploughed soil.

It is known that the more shallow introduction, i.e. mixing-in, of comminuted organic material, including stable manure, into the upper levels of ploughed soil has the advantage that because it is accessible to air this material will decompose rapidly. However, during the initial stages of anaerobic decomposition, poisonous products of decomposition are produced which are harmful to the growth of roots, Sowing should therefore be delayed for several weeks after such introduction of organic material until it has fully decomposed. This has the disadvantage that either seed tends to be sown too late, or does not come up well, or that the cycle has to be started early by very early ploughing.

This leads to the situation in which the field often has to lie fallow far too long and planting of other crops in the meantimes- pecially winter crops--often is not possible.

A further disadvantage consists in the fact that each time the soil has been worked, as a result of aeration valuable nutrients are mineralised out of the humus capital and are therefore washed out by subsequent rainfall.

Apart from that, the effect of wind and water results in many useful soil constituents being washed away and therefore increases the erosion of good soil. When uncovered areas of soil are flooded by strong rainfall, or driven over by vehicles, this generally results in more heavy compaction than if the field had plants growing on it. Another disadvantage consists in the fact that when animal manure or green manure is mixed in too early, their nutrients are already being con verted before the plants of the crop are in a position to absorb and convert the carbon dioxide produced during the decomposing process.

When a field is left for a considerable period without a protecting plant cover, it is also likely that this will lead to an overlarge increase or decrease in individual types of soil organisms and thus increased pest problems. Living or dead plant cover, on the other hand, offers much better growth conditions for a plentiful and rich soil flora and fauna.

The usual technique of working the wholearea of the soil additionally has the disadvantage that great numbers of useful soil organisms such as earthworms are injured or killed. This adversely affects the condition of the soil and therefore the yield, so that farmers are forced to add more and more nutrients in the form of commercial fertilisers. The easily soluble nutrients, however, not only have unacceptably large energy requirements for their manufacture and transport, but also are the cause of the rapidly increasing quantities of poisonous pesticides which have to be used.

The whole-area working of soil, particularly when effected in successive operations, also causes drying out of the soil and thus lower yields in dry years and a decrease in soil fertility. Insufficient and uneven soil density also requires an increased use of seed corn.

Because of the many and substantial disadvantages inherent in the traditional soil working methods, attempts have been made to use other methods such as that known as the "minimum soil treatment". This dispenses with deep working of the soil and seed is deposited in rows or scattered widely over an unploughed top soil. The clean or cleared field required by the sowing machines, is achieved either by mechanical hoeing or by killing off the organic soil cover by chemical means (herbicides), or alternatively by burning.

For shallow mechanical hoeing the soil must be sufficiently dry and free from deep wheel tracks caused by tractors and other vehicles which have previously passed over it during harvesting or the spreading of manure. This method therefore cannot be used with relatively moist soil, although this condition would normally be the most suitable for sowing and the germination of seed. With this method also the organic material which has been hoed or killed should be given time to decompose. Since hoeing is effected over the whole area of the soil it is not possible, or very difficult to hoe and at the same time sow the field in one operation. This is already difficult, if not impossible, because the mixing-in of the plant residue into the top soil does not adequately break up to the soil, particularly if it is heavy soil. For cultivating the land, several successive operations are therefore usually necessary. When there are long intevals between these operations there is a further disadvantage that the organic material may decompose too rapidly, that is, before the conversion products of the fertiliser and nutrients can be best used by the growing seedlings.

Spraying with chemical substances, or burning, damages the soil flora and fauna which are therefore prevented from fulfilling the task of supplying the plants with nutrients. With these methods, decreases in yield can therefore likewise only be overcome by increasing the amount of mineral fertiliser used and this in turn leads to an increased use of herbicides.

Other known methods wherein rotating coulters cut drills into soil covered with plants have the disadvantage that the loosened soil is deposited partly back into the seed drills and partly on the adjacent strip of field. So far the desired effect has not been achieved. Either too little fine soil for the seed bed is obtained, or the soil particles are mixed with too much organic material. If, when sowing an early crop the soil has not been loosened to a sufficient depth and width, the soil will absorb too little rainwater.

Alternatively, the rainwater will in certain cases tend to collect in the seed drills and cause over-wetting of the soil in the seed beds. With this method if seed drills are produced and the seed simultaneously sown, germination is often unreliable.

In another known method, rotating tools cut the plant material, harvest residue or manure which covers the soil into small pieces and scatter it over a wide area, i.e. a so-called mulch layer is produced from a mixture of plants and soil particles. This mulch layer is subsequently collected into ridges and into the furrows formed between these ridges the seeds are placed on the otherwise unprepared soil. The seeds are then lightly pressed down and covered with a little soil. The mulch contained in the ridges is later used to cover the rows of plants which by then will have grown somewhat.

This method does offer a considerable improvement because it can effect in one and the same operation or, at least in operations closely following each other, the preparation of a field covered with plants or other organic material and seed drilling and sowing. This prevents the soil from drying out and avoids the premature decomposition of the organic material, thus achieving unusually high yields.

But this method does have one disadvantage, namely the energy requirement for several simultaneously effected operations, i.e. the cutting, heaping and sowing, is too great for the usual tractor and the cutting members-particularly for working on heavy soil or in wet weather--can leave an undesirable, slippery layer on the surface of the soil.

The production of the ridges of loose material is really only practicable when making wide rows, i.e. root crops rather than for cereal. Particularly in the case of very delicate seeds the decomposition of the mulch layer--depending on the weather-still takes place a little too rapidly, or not fast enough in the case of dry and cool weather, so that poisonous substances produced by the decomposition can damage the plant roots.

It is an object of this invention to provide a method, and means for carrying out the method, which will avoid the disadvantages of known methods and devices.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for mechanically producing drills for the planting of seeds or juvenile plants in top soil having a covering of plants, plant residues or manure, in which a shallow, narrow strip of the top soil is laterally displaced onto adjacent, untouched top soil by a cutting tool rotating in a plane non-perpendicular with respect to a vertical plane perpendicular to the direction of forward movement of a tractor attachment on which said tool is mounted to produce a drill in the top soil free of said covering for the subsequent reception of seeds or juvenile plants.

By this method drills can be produced in any type of soil, after each preceding crop, at any time of the year and seed corn, seedlings or bulbs can be introduced simultaneously or later at an even depth, even in a relatively moist soil and even though the surface of the soil has not first been ploughed, loosened or hoed and without first removing living or dead plants, harvest residue or straw-like manure. The method has a relatively low energy requirement and is versatile in application. It is possible to sow immediately after a harvest or in fields covered with dense, thick vegetation or green manure, without the decomposition processes of these fertiliser materials affecting the germination or growth of the main crop. Apart from this, the nutrients of such green manure, plant residue or animal manure will be used to better advantage than in hitherto known methods.

Seeds orjuvenile plants may be introduced into the drill immediately after its formation by the same tractor attachment which is forming the drill, and soil at the sides of the drill may be crumbled over the seeds or juvenile plants deposited by the tractor attachment by means on said attachment to the rear of the drill-forming means. The seeds or juvenile plants may be pressed into the soil of the drill by pressing means on said attachment to the rear of the drill-forming means.

By means of transversely spaced-apart cutting tools of the same tractor attachment a plurality of parallel, spaced apart drills may be simultaneously formed and material laterally displaced from the drills may be deposited upon strips between the drills of top soil untouched by the attachment.

After the formation of a first drill or series of drills a second drill or series of drills may be formed by laterially displacing the top soil on which material from the first drill or drills has been deposited together with the material from the first drill or drills deposited thereon into the. first drill or drills before planting seeds or juvenile plants in the second drill or drills. Material from the first drill or drills may be moved laterally without inverting it and the material from both the first and second drills may be inverted as it is moved laterally from the second drill or drills into the first drill or drills.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a tractor attachment adapted to carry out the method of the present invention, comprising a frame, a plurality of rotatable cutting tools spaced apart transversely of the frame, each cutting tool being coaxially mounted at one end of a respective auxiliary driven shaft to be rotatable therewith, each auxiliary driven shaft being in driveable connection at its end remote from the associated cutting tool with a main driven shaft extending transversely of the frame and vertically adjustably supported from the frame by drive transmission means, means being provided to control the vertical position of said main shaft relative to soil over which the attachment is moving so as to control the depth of cut of the associated cutting tool to tools, each auxiliary driven shaft extending from the associated main driven shaft at an obtuse angle such that the associated cutting tool is rotatable in a plane which is non-perpendicular with respect to a vertical plane perpendicular to the direction of forward movement of the attachment in use, the arrangement being such that in use of the attachment the rotated tools will laterally displace material from respective, spaced apart, shallow strips of top soil onto top soil untouched by the cutting tools.

Auxiliary driven shafts may be in driven connection with both ends of the same main driven shaft, the cutting tools on the two auxiliary shafts connected to the same main shaft being mutually spaced apart and lying in planes which converge downwardly and to the rear of the attachment.

Said cutting tools may be coulter discs, which may be concave. In a preferred arrangement the concave faces of the two coulter discs mounted on the same main driven shaft are presented toward one another, the arrangement being such that material laterally displaced by said two discs will be deposited in a double ridge between the discs.

Alternatively, the said tools may be starwheel coulters. Two star-wheel coulters connected to the same main driven shaft may be covered by respective shrouds which open rearwardly and toward one another, groundengaging wheel means being provided behind and between each associated pair of shrouds to prevent material ejected from one shroud falling into the drill being made by the star-wheel coulter in the other shroud.

A second series of spaced apart cutting tools may be mounted on the frame similarly to and behind the first-mentioned cutting tools, each tool of said second series being in a staggered relation transversely of the frame to a tool of the first series, the arrangement being such that the second series of tools will laterally displace top soil on which material has been deposited by the first series of tools, and in forming a second series of drills will laterally displace material therefrom together with material deposited thereon by the first series of tools into the drills formed by the first series of tools.

Preferably the ratio of the transmission means is such that the speed of rotation of said tools will exceed the speed of rotation of ground-engaging support wheels of the attachment, and is preferably such that the speed of rotation of the tools is at least three times the speed of rotation of said support wheels.

Means may be provided on the frame behind each said tool, or each said tool of the second series, for sowing seed or juvenile plants into the drill formed by said tool.

Means may also be provided on the frame behind each said sowing means for pressing sown seeds or juvenile plants into the drill.

Additionally, means may be provided on the frame behind each said sowing means or each said pressing means for crumbling earth from the sides of the drill over the sown seeds or juvenile plants.

Each said drive transmission means may extend rearwardly and downwardly of the frame, the frame being supported by heightadjustable support wheels, said main driven shafts being at the rearward ends of the respective transmission means and the latter being commonly rotatably mounted at their leading ends on a drive shaft of polygonal cross-section rotatably mounted to extend transversely of the frame.

Said sowing means may comprise a plurality of feed pipes extending vertically to seed or juvenile plant containers detachably mounted on the frame, dispensing means being provided to control the rate of discharge from the containers to the feed pipes, said dispensing means being driven by a ground-engaging wheel connected by a pivotal arm to the frame.

Each transmission means may be downwardly biased to press the associated tool or tools into the ground by an associated arm extending from a torsion bar arranged transversely of the frame, means being provided to hold the transmission means in a raised position against said bias when the attachment is not working the soil.

Each auxiliary driven shaft may be connected by a universal drive connection with the associated main driven shaft and rotatably mounted in bearing means in a tubular housing which joins a tubular housing of said main driven shaft at said obtuse angle.

Each feed pipe may be supported by a cross-member extending from the rear end of one of the transmission means the height of which above the ground is adjustably controllable by a ground-engaging member vertically adjustably connected to the rear end of said transmission means.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures la, 2a, 3a and 4a are crosssectional views of covered soil prior to the application thereto of the method of the invention, Figures lb, 2b, 3b and 3c and 4b show the soil respectively of Figures la, 2a, 3a and 4a during or after the application thereto of different embodiments of the method of the invention, Figure 5 is a perspective view from the rear and one side of a first embodiment of a tractor attachment adapted for carrying out the method of the present invention Figure 6 is a detail on an enlarged scale of the attachment of Figure 5, Figure 7 shows a modification of the attachment of Figure 5, Figures 8 and 9 are views on an enlarged scale, partly in section, respectively from behind and from above, of the mounting and drive means for one of the undercutting tools of the attachment of Figure 5, and Figures 10 to 12 illustrate a second embodiment of a tractor attachment for carrying out the method of the invention, all partly in section and respectively in side elevation, plan view and rear view.

As can be seen in Figure la, prior to applying the method of the invention the soil 46 of a field is covered either with living plants 47 or harvest residue 48.

From Figure lb it can be seen that after applying the method according to the invention the living plants or harvest residues have been cut from the top soil layer la in narrow strips from which material has been laterally displaced and deposited in small ridges 1 b on the untouched surface strip of the soil between the drills produced by the cutting out of the narrow strips. Seed corn or plant bulbs 49 laid in the drills 4 ar thus deposited on a strip of soil 3 which is completely freed of living plants and harvest residue, manure or other soil cover and can be covered with fine earth 5 taken from the edges or from the bed 3 of the seed drill 4.

Figure 2a shows plant growth before applying a variation of the method. As represented by Figure 2b the top soil layer la is cut out in narrow strips, turned over, laterally displaced and together with the plants thereon deposited in the form of a face down turf layer on the strip 2 of soil between the seed drills 4. This has the result that the plants growing on the strip 2 are prevented from growing further by the layer 1 covering it and together with the plants in the covering layer 1 the plants in the strips 2 decompose very slowly, all living animals remaining undamaged in the strip 2.

Figure 3a shows plant growth in a field prior to being treated by a further variation of the method.

Figure 3b shows the condition of the field after effecting a first operation, small strips 1 have been cut from the top soil layer la and laterally displaced but have not been turned over, i.e. they have been deposited on the adjacent strip of field 2 with the plants therein upright.

As shown in Figure 3c each strip of field la with a layer 1 on top of it is undercut, turned over and laterally displaced into the seed drill 4a, which was produced first, and deposited with the plants facing downwards so that the material not only fills up the seed drills 4, but also forms ridges between the seed drills 4b produced in the second operation. Seed corn or plant bulbs may subsequently be deposited in the seed drills 4b and again covered with fine soil 5. These methods have the advantage that the whole surface of the field and therefore also all the roots of weeds are cut off, and fertile soil and organic substances can be stored between the drills for slow decomposition, soil cover and soil fertilisation.

Figure 4a is a cross-section through the top soil of a field with plant growth before and Figure 4b shows the field after applying another variation of the method: This consists in that adjacent narrow strips 1 of the top soil layer la are, after being undercut, laterally displaced toward one another (with or without being inverted). They are then deposited in the form of double ridges Ic on the untouched field strip 2 between adjacent drills. This has the effect that the untouched field strips 2 on the opposite sides of adjacent pairs of the seed drills remain uncovered so that the plants (for example clover and other green manure plants), which grow thereon, even after sowing of the crop, may still continue to grow for a certain period. so as to provide green material which will give shade to the soil, consolidate it and allow nitrogen from the air to be assimulated when for example the sown maize or beet or potatoes in their early stages of growth are still unable to utilise to the full the available space. In a second and later stage the green matter growing on this strip can be cut into small pieces by means of known types of straw cutters and/or may be cut close to the ground and in the form of a mulch or soil-covering layer heaped against the rows of seedlings.

This results in a remarkable improvement of the soil fertility, and thus yield.

Figures 5 to 9 illustrate a tractor attachment adapted to carry out the method of the present invention. The attachment comprises a frame 9 supported above the ground by wheels 26 in a height-adjustable manner so that it can be towed in the right-to-left direction as viewed in Figure 5 by a tractor (not shown), a power take-off of which rotates a drive shaft 25 extending transversely of the frame. At spaced intervals along the shaft 25 are a plurality of transmission boxes 12, one of which is shown in more detail in Figure 6. Each box 12 contains a drive chain (not shown) whereby a main driven shaft 17 (Figure 9) mounted in bearings in a tubular housing 35 at a trailing end of the box 12 is rotated by the shaft 25 via a hub 24 which has a polygonal configuration resembling that of the shaft 25.

Extending at similar obtuse angles to the tubular housing 35 are auxiliary tubular housings which extend transversely, rearwardly and downwardly and house respective auxiliary driven shafts 16 which are rotatable by the main driven shaft 17 via dogclutch type universal couplings 37 (Figure 9).

Each auxiliary shaft 16 has at its free end a hub 1 6a whereby a concave disc coulter 6 is mounted on the shaft to be rotatable therewith. As the disc coulters 6 are coaxial with the auxiliary shafts with which they are rotatable it follows that each is rotatable in a plane which is oblique with respect both to the vertical and to the direction in which the attachment is moved when towed by the tractor. As shown, the pair of disc coulters 6 associated with each transmission box 12 are in spaced relation and lie in planes which converge downwardly and to the rear of the attachment.

The frame 9 has a number of brackets 27 on which is releasably mounted a known type of storage container 2a for seed corn and to which are also attached holding chains 23 which support the trailing ends of the drive boxes 12 in a height adjustable manner.

A discharge device 30 on the frame is driven by a bogie wheel 32 which, in use runs along the ground, but which, in the raised position of the attachment, stands still and by means of a swivelable elongated transmission 33 is operatively connected with a variable drive (not shown) of the discharge device 30.

The elongated drive boxes 12 are pressed toward the ground by pressure springs 41, which are supported against a torsion bar 34.

In this way a desired depth of soil penetration by the discs 6 is achieved.

Near the lower end of each box 12 there is provided an arm 38 with a slot 39 in which is inserted for height adjustment a shaft 40 on a sensing wheel 13 or a slider 14 in order to adjust the height above the ground of the lower end of each box 12 for a desired depth of soil penetration by the coulter discs 6.

Attached to the arm 38 is a cross beam 42 which extends behind the disc coulters 6 transverse to the direction of travel of the attachment and on the ends of which holding devices for telescopic seed feed pipes 31 having dispenser nozzles 20 are attached.

To these tubes 31 or the cross beams 42 there are additionally attached fork-shaped linkages 45, between which there are mounted pressure rollers 21, and attached to the free ends of these linkages 45 are scapers 22 which are also height-adjustable to a limited extent.

In the slot 39 is secured a height-adjustable shaft 40 consisting of two hinged parts and which is rigidly connected to the rear of a slider 14, in order to adjust this slider for different heights in front of and beneath the drive box 12.

The embodiment shown in Figure 6 enables particularly deep drills to be produced because the discs 5a are able to undercut moist and heavy soil and produce a double ridge with material from the seed drill 4.

The embodiment shown in Figure 7 differs from that shown in Figure 6 essentially in that in place of the slider there is provided on the shaft 40 a sensing wheel 13. This type of construction is particularly useful for loose soil and in the production of relatively shallow seed drills.

The embodiment according to Figures 10, 11 and 12 differs from that according to Figures 6 to 9 essentially by the fact that on the free ends of the auxiliary driven shafts 16 there are provided star-wheel coulters 7, which because of their obliquity to the direction of travel, produce a shallow seed drill 54 and at the same time cut up the soil and any plant matter thereon and deposit this in the form of double ridges on the untouched strip of field between the two seed drills. In order to prevent soil or plant material being thrown into the adjacent seed drill a jib 4 is provided to the free end of which there is secured the shaft 40 in a slot 39. On the lower end of the shaft 40 there is provided ajournal box 50 in which the common axle 51 of two disc wheels 52 and 53 are mounted, the lower part of the holding shaft 40 being arranged between these two wheels. Since the wheels 52, 53, apart from having an outwardly extending rim, are smooth discs, the coulters 7a rotating beneath respective hoods 54 expel the excavated soil and plant material through rearwardly directed discharge openings 55 in the direction of the discs 52, 53 which deposit this material in the form of a split double ridge.

The results of using an attachment according to the invention as a rule are best when the field to be tilled is left covered with living plants or a compressed (but not air tight) layer of dead plants, for example weeds, straw beet leaves or animal manure, u increases in yield, cost reductions and savings in work and the cost of manufactured products.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A method for mechanically producing drills for the planting of seeds or juvenile plants in top soil having a covering of plants, plant residues or manure, in which a shallow, narrow strip of the topsoil is laterally displaced onto adjacent, untouched top soil by a cutting tool rotating in a plane non-perpendicular with respect to a vertical plane perpendicular to the direction of direction of forward movement of a tractor a attachment on which said tool is mounted to produce a drill in the top soil free of said covering for the subsequent reception of seeds or juvenile plants.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein seeds or juvenile plants are introduced into the drill immediately after its formation by the same tractor attachment which is forming the drill.

3. A method as claimed in claim wherein soil at the sides of the drill is crumbled over the seeds or juvenile plants deposited by the tractor attachment by means on said attachment to the rear of the drill-forming means.

4. A method as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the seeds or juvenile plants are pressed into the soil of the drill by pressing means on said attachment to the rear of the drill-forming means.

5. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein by means of transversely spaced-apart cutting tools on the same tractor attachment a plurality of parallel, spaced apart drills are simultaneously formed and material laterally displaced from the drills is deposited upon strips between the drills of top soil untouched by the attachment.

6. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein after the formation of a first drill or series of drills a second drill or series of drills is formed by laterally displacing the top soil on which material from the first drill or drills has been depos ited together with the material from the first drill or drills deposited thereon into the first drill or drills before planting seeds or juvenile plants in the second drill or drills.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein material from the first drill or drills is moved laterally without inverting it and wherein the material from both the first and second drills is inverted as it is moved laterally from the second drill or drills into the first drill or drills.

8. A tractor attachment adapted to carry out the method claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising a frame, a plurality of rotatable cutting tools spaced apart transversly of the frame, each cutting tool being coaxially mounted at one end of a respective auxiliary driven shaft to be rotatable therewith, each auxiliary driven shaft being in driveable connection at its end remote from the associated cutting tool with a main driven shaft extending transversely of the frame and vertically adjustably supported from the frame by drive transmission means, means being provided to control the vertical position of said main shaft relative to soil over which the attachment is moving so as to control the depth of cut of the associated cutting tool or tools, each auxiliary driven shaft extending from the associated main driven shaft at an obtuse angle such that the associated cutting tool is rotatable in a plane which is non-perpendicular with respect to a vertical plane perpendicular to the direction of forward movement of the attachment in use, the arrangement being such that in use of the attachment the rotated tools will laterally displace material from respective, spaced apart, shallow strips of top soil and onto top soil untouched by the cutting tools.

9. An attachment as claimed in claim 8, wherein auxiliary driven shafts are in driven connection with both ends of the same main driven shaft, the cutting tools on the two auxiliary shafts connected to the same main shaft being mutually spaced apart and lying in planes with converge downwardly and to the rear of the attachment.

10. An attachment as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9, wherein said curting tools are coulter discs.

11. An attachment as claimed in claim 10, wherein said coulter discs are concave.

12. An attachment as claimed in claim 11 as appendant to claim 9, wherein the concave faces of the two coulter discs mounted on the same main driven shaft are presented toward one another, the arrangement being such that material laterally displaced by said two discs will be deposited in a double ridge between the discs.

13. An attachment as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the said tools are starwheel coulters.

14. An attachment as claimed in claim 13 as appendant to claim 9, wherein the two star-wheel coulters connected to the same main driven shaft are covered by respective shrouds which open rearwardly and toward one another, ground-engaging wheel means being provided behind and between each associated pair of shrouds to prevent material ejected from one shroud falling into the drill being made by the star-wheel coulter in the other shroud.

15. An attachment as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 14, and adapted for carrying out the method claimed in claim 6 or claim 7, wherein a second series of spaced-apart cutting tools are mounted on the frame similarly to and behind the first-mentioned

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. increases in yield, cost reductions and savings in work and the cost of manufactured products. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A method for mechanically producing drills for the planting of seeds or juvenile plants in top soil having a covering of plants, plant residues or manure, in which a shallow, narrow strip of the topsoil is laterally displaced onto adjacent, untouched top soil by a cutting tool rotating in a plane non-perpendicular with respect to a vertical plane perpendicular to the direction of direction of forward movement of a tractor a attachment on which said tool is mounted to produce a drill in the top soil free of said covering for the subsequent reception of seeds or juvenile plants.

cutting tools, each tool of said second series being in a staggered relation transversely of the frame to a tool of the first series, the arrangement being such that the second series of tools will laterally displace top soil on which material has been deposited by the first series of tools, and in forming a second series of drills will laterally displace material therefrom together with material deposited thereon by the first series of tools into the drills formed by the first series of tools.

16. An attachment as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 15, wherein the ratio of the transmission means is such that the speed of rotation of said tools will exceed the speed of rotation of ground-engaging support wheels of the attachment.

17. An attachment as claimed in claim 16, wherein said ratio is such that the speed of rotation of the tools is at least three times the speed of rotation of said support wheels.

18. An attachment as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 17, wherein means is provided on the frame behind each said tool, or each said tool of the second series, for sowing seed or juvenile plants into the drill formed by said tool.

19. An attachment as claimed in claim 18, wherein means is provided on the frame behind each said sowing means for pressing sown seeds or juvenile plants into the drill.

20. An attachment as claimed in claim 18 or claim 19, wherein means is provided on the frame behind each said sowing means or each said pressing means for crumbling earth from the sides of the drill over the sown seeds or juvenile plants.

21. An attachment as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 20, wherein each said drive transmission means extends rearwardly and downwardly of the frame, the frame being supported by height-adjustable support wheels, said main driven shafts being at the rearward ends of the respective transmission means and the latter being commonly rotatably mounted at their leading ends on a drive shaft of polygonal cross-section rotatably mounted to extend transversely of the frame.

22. An attachment as claimed in any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein said sowing means comprises a plurality of feed pipes extending vertically to seed or juvenile plant containers detachably mounted on the frame, dispensing means being provided to control the rate of discharge from the containers to the feed pipes, said dispensing means being driven by a ground-engaging wheel connected by a pivotal arm to the frame.

23. An attachment as claimed in claim 21, wherein each transmission means is downwardly biased to press the associated tool or tools into the ground by an associated arm extending from a torsion bar arranged transversely of the frame, means being provided to hold the transmission means in a raised position against said bias when the attachment is not working the soil.

24. An attachment as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 23, wherein each auxiliary driven shaft is connected by a universal drive connection with the associated main driven shaft and is rotatably mounted in bearing means in a tubular housing which joins a tubular housing of said main driven shaft at said obtuse angle.

25. An attachment as claimed in claim 22 as appendant to claim 21, wherein each feed pipe is supported by a cross-member extending from the rear end of one of the transmission means the height of which above the ground is adjustably controllable by a ground-engaging member vertically adjustably connected to the rear end of said transmission means.

26. A method for mechanically producing drills for the planting of seeds or juvenile plants in top soil having a covering of plants, plant residues or manure, substantially as herein described with reference to Figures lb, 2b, 3b and 3c or Figure 4b of the accompanying drawings.

27. A tractor attachment adapted to carry out the method claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 and 26, substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 5 to 9 or 10 to 12 of the accompanying drawings.