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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pendleton, Oregon » Columbia Plateau Conservation Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #190290

Title: PERFORMANCE OF TWO HOE-TYPE AIR DRILLS SOWING GREEN PEAS IN A CONSERVATION TILLAGE SYSTEM

Author
item Siemens, Mark
item DARNELL, THOMAS - OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
item Hulick, Donald

Submitted to: Applied Engineering in Agriculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/2006
Publication Date: 1/1/2007
Citation: Siemens, M.C., Darnell, T., Hulick, D.E. 2007. Performance of two hoe-type air drills sowing green peas in a conservation tillage system. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 23(1):23-29.

Interpretive Summary: Accurate seed placement during sowing is important for optimizing yield and quality for edible green peas; however it is difficult in conservation tillage system where residue on the soil surface impedes seeder performance. There are many types of no-till seeding systems, but limited studies have been conducted comparing the relative performance of one system versus another. To address this issue, a field experiment was conducted in eastern Oregon to determine how well two different types of hoe-type no-till seeding systems performed when sowing green peas in a conservation tillage system. The seeding systems studied included a seeder that placed seed in a banded row and did not have individual seeding unit depth control, and a seeder that placed seed in a narrow row and was equipped with individual seeding unit depth control. Despite the significant differences in seeder configuration, few differences in performance were found. The banded row seeder without individual depth gauge wheels placed seeds as accurately as the single row seeder equipped with individual seeding unit depth control. Standard deviation of the mean seeding depth, speed of seedling emergence and the percentage of sown seeds that emerged were statistically the same. Crop yield and crop yield components including plant population, pods per plant, peas per pod and pea weight were also statistically equivalent. The results of this study suggest that in certain field conditions, complicated systems with individual seeding unit depth control aren’t required to maximize pea production. Information contained in this study can be utilized by equipment designers to improve seeder design and is valuable to growers considering purchase of a no-till seeder or converting to a conservation tillage system.

Technical Abstract: A field experiment was conducted in eastern Oregon to evaluate the performance of two different types of hoe-type no-till seeding systems in term of seeding depth uniformity, emergence, early plant growth and crop yield when sowing green peas. The seeding systems studied included a banded row, flex frame drill with seeding depth controlled by frame elevation and a single row drill with individual seeding unit depth control. Experimental design was a randomized complete block design with four replications. Depth of seed placement and date of emergence were recorded for 998 plants, while crop yield was determined by hand harvesting a 9.2 m^2 area. Despite the significant differences in seeder configuration, few differences in performance were found. The banded row, flex frame seeder without individual depth gauge wheels placed seeds as accurately as the single row seeder equipped with individual seeding unit depth control. Standard deviation of the mean seeding depth, speed of emergence index and the percentage of sown seeds that emerged were not significantly different between the two seeders. Crop yield and crop yield components including plant population, pods per plant, peas per pod and pea weight were also not significantly different. The results of this study suggest that in certain field conditions, there is no benefit to seeders equipped with individual seeding unit depth control in terms of seed depth uniformity, seedling emergence, stand establishment or crop yield.