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1 NOTES NEXPEVE NO-TLL ATTACHMENT FOR A TWO.ROW CORN PLANTER A steel frame supprting tw fluted culters, and munted between a tractr and a tw-rw crn planter, successfully planted n-till crn (Zea mays L.) in cereal and crn stubble. N significant differences ccurred in crn yield r maturity between the n-till and regularly tilled crn in three years. Cnstructin details are presented. Key wrds: N-till crn, crn planter mdificatins, stubble planting [Appareil 6cnmique pur semis direct avec semir d mais en deux rangs.] Titre abr6g6: Semir d mais pur semis directs en deux rangs. Un chdssis m6tallique sutenant deux cutres cannel6s, mnt6 entre le tracteur et un semir d mais en deux rangs, a permis le semis direct de mais (Zea mays L.) sur des chaumes de c6r6ales et de mais. En tris ans, n n'a cnstat6 aucune diffdrence significative dans le rendement et la pr6ccit6 du mais sem6 directement u avec travail du sl habituel. Les details de la cnstructin snt dnn6s dans le texte. Mts cl6s: Mais sem6 directement, mdificatins d un semir d mais. semrs sur cnaumes Crn (Zea mays L.) is cmmnly grwn n Maritime farms, ften n slping fields subject t ersin. Hwever, the number f hectares grwn per farm is usually limited, discuraging the purchase f large, expensive, n-till crn planters by grwers seeking the benefits f n-till crn. Attempts at n-till planting f crn using an unmdified Frd tw-rw crn planter n sandy lam sils have resulted in pr penetratin int the sil, pr seed placement, lack f gd seed cverage, and reduced emergence (R. P. White, unpubl. data). The cncept f cnstructing an add-n unit t cnvert an existing tw-rw crn planter int a n-till planter was investigated at the Charlttetwn Research Statin. A successful n-till planter must accmplish the fllwing: (1) cut thrugh plant residues n the sil surface withut any plugging; (2) lsen the sil in the vicinity f seed placement; (3) place fertilizer belw and t the side f the seed; and (4) prperly place and cver the seed. n additin, a ntill add-n unit shuld be: (l) easilv cn- Can. J. Plant Sci. 66: (July 1986) 785 structed by a persn with basic welding skills; (2) simple t attach and detach; and (3) relatively inexpensive. Our bjective was t design and test a simple, n-till addn unit fr an existing crn planter t use in bth cereal and crn stubble. The tw-rw crn planter used was a Frd mdel 309 cmplete with duble-disc seed peners and fertilizer placement discs. A steel framewrk was cnstructed t fit between a standard three-pint tractr hitch and the three-pint hitch n the crn planter (Figs. and2). This frame was designed t supprt either f tw different tillage tls (fluted culter r Triple K tine) t be evaluated fr wrking the sil ahead fthe seed pening discs. Tw 90-kg tractr weights placed n the frame ensured penetratin f the tillage tls and the planter unit int the sil (Fig. 2). The rear part f the add-n unit was designed t mesh with the crn planter's frame. Once in place, the planter frame is held by tw drp pins (Fig. 1). A standard tplink attaches the tp f the crn planter t the tp f the add-n unit, which in turn is attached t the tractr by an additinal tplink (Fig. 2). The depths f the

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3 WHTE ET AL. - NO-TLL TWO-ROW CORN PLANTER 787 Fig' 2' N-till add-n unit munted between tractr and tw-rw crn planter, cmplete with spring cushined fluted culters. tillage tls were initially set bv means f the clamps hlding them nt the n-till up, there was little need t change anything but the draft, and pssibly rhe rpli;k, f; different sil cnditins. With mdificatins_, the basic design shuld be adaptable t ther makes f tw-rw planters. The pair f fluted spring cushined culters (White Mfg. C. # BA) cst abut $500, and it was estimated that anther $500 cvered the cst f the steel frame and weights. The first field evaluatin f the unit was a replicated field experiment n cereal stubble (straw remved) n a fine sandy lam. All fur-rw (3.0 x 7.6 m) were planted with the Frd 301 crn planter. either with r withut the n-till attachment. The check plts were rttilled prir t planting with the unmdified planter. The three n-till treatments were planted in cereal stubble with: (a) the unmdified planter, (b) ne 3.8-cm-wide Triple K tine munted ahead feach seed pening disc plus the weights, and (c) ne 4l-cm-diameter spring-cush_ ined fluted culter munted ahead f each seed_pening disc, plus the weighrs (Fig. 2). Excellent weed cntrl was btained applicatin f 2.5 kg 1.5 kg ha-r f glydentified suitable by N significant di#ences in percent emergence, days t 507 silking, r in the percent dry matter r the yield at harvest were bserved in this experiment (Table ). Hwever, the days required fr emergence were significantly lwer fr the rttilled check and the culter treatments. The sd plant stand btained with n-till planting using the unmdified planter was cntrary t very pr stands previusly btained in crn stubble plantings.

4 788 CANADTAN JURNAL F plant scrence Table l. Evaluatin f tillage attachments fr n-till planting f crn in cereal stubble, 1982 Emergence Plantert mdificatin 7 days t 50V nne+ nne tines kg Cultersfl80kg LSD (0.05) 96 9' tfrd mdel 309, tw-rw with seed pening discs. lplts rttilled befre seeding. The culters readily cut thrugh the trash and left the sil suitable fr seed placement. The tines. hwever. tended t thrw sil and stubble s far t either side that the seed was prly cvered after the passage f the packing wheel. Based n these bservatins, n further wrk was cnducted using the tines. n additin t the replicated trial, the ntill unit, cmplete with culters, was used in a large crn stubble field. nitially the crn stubble plugged in the narrw space between the seed placement shes (directly belw the seed hppers, see Fig. 2) and the fertilizer placement discs lcated behind them. This prevented prper cverage f the seed. The prblem was quickly slved by extending the arms hlding the fertilizer discs backward 5 cm, thus widening the distance between the back fthe seed placement shes and the fertllizer placement discs. The l-ha field was then planted with n further prblems. This was the nly mdificatin required n the planter fr successful n-till planting. The n-till unit (with culters) is currently being used in a lng-term crn tillage and rtatin study established in Ntilled crn is being cmpared with regularly tilled crn under bth a cntinuus crn and an alternating crn-barley rtatin. N significant differences between the n-tilled crn and cnventinally tilled crn have ccurred in any f the 3 yr, nr in the 3-yr averages fr frage crn yield r percent dry matter cntent at harvest. n yr, the plant emergence was lwer in the n-till plt, but nly in the rtatin plt. As previusly Days t 507 silk Whle-plant (6 Oct.) VDM z)-) t ha-rdm 12. tt nted, excellent weed cntrl is being btained with the atrazine-glyphsate cmbinatin, althugh small areas f crab grass (Digitaria ischemum (Schrib.) Muhl.) and barnyard grass (Echinchla crus-galli (L.) Beauv.). nt evident at the start f the experiment, are beginning t shw up in the n-tilled plts. The n-till unit has als been used in the rutine n-till planting f sme ha f crn in cereal r crn stubble n the Research Statin Farm each year since 1983, with satisfactry results. n cnclusin, a successful n-till, addn unit was cnstructed t fit a cnventinal tw-rw Frd crn planter. The welded steel frame unit supprts tw 90-kg weights and tw 4l-cm-diameter fluted culters. The nly crn planter mdificatin required cnsisted f increasing the distance between the seed placement shes and the fertilizer placement discs t prevent plugging by crn stubble. The add-n unit is simple t build, culd be custmized t ther makes f planters, is relatively inexpensive, and has prven satisfactry fr n-till planting in bth cereal and crn stubble n sandy lam fields. vany, J. A. and Enman, J. R Herbicides fr frage crn n-till seeded int cereal stubble. Can. J. Plant Sci. 63: R. P. WHTE, J. A. VANY and J. R. ENMAN Research Statin, Agriculture Canada, Charlttetwn, Prince Edward sland CA 7M8. Cntributin n. 593, received 13 Nv. 1985, accepted 3 December 1985.

5 This article has been cited by: 1. M.R Carter, J.B Sandersn, J.A vany, R.P White nfluence f rtatin and tillage n frage maize prductivity, weed species, and sil quality f a fine sandy lam in the cl humid climate f Atlantic Canada. Sil and Tillage Research 67:1, [Crssref] 2. M.R. Carter, H.T. Kunelius, R.P. White, A.J. Campbell Develpment f direct-drilling systems fr sandy lam sils in the cl humid climate f Atlantic Canada. Sil and Tillage Research 16:4, [Crssref]