Furrow opener performance and innovations in notill seed drills: An Australian perspective

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1 Furrow opener performance and innovations in notill seed drills: An Australian perspective James Barr and Dr Jack Desbiolles Agricultural Machinery Research and Design Centre University of South Australia

2 Grain cropping in Australia Grain growing Regions in Australia 26 million Ha 63M tonnes/year 92% winter crop production Source: ABARES (2017) Soybean regions in Australia Based around summer rain, or irrigation 30, ,000 tonnes/year 15,000-50,000 ha/year Source: Soybean Australia

3 Agricultural Machinery Research and Design Centre (AMRDC) Key Facilities: Tillage test track 250 metres continuous track Common sandy soil (300 mm deep) Tillage forces, wear rates, and soil movement

4 Key facilities: specialised plot seeder Seeding system studies, replicated trials

5 Pattern of cumulative no-till adoption in Australia (after Llewellyn and D Emden, 2010)

6 Summarising the evolution of no-till seeders in Australia 1. Low cost upgrades of existing seeders key to initial adoption 2. The narrow point (tine) +press-wheel system quickly became the cornerstone of Australian no-till farming 3. These systems are continually evolving to more precision machines Centre row split banded

7 1. Advantages: - Simplicity, low maintenance Why tine seeders? Tines represent the majority of Australian no till seeders - Can offer seed/fertiliser separation - Simple solutions exist for sticky soil conditions - Moisture Seeking 2. Drawbacks: - Low residue handling - Typically, have higher soil disturbance - Lower speed of operation for quality sowing

8 Soil disturbance with tine seeders Furrow ridging Knife opener speed 9km/h depth 50mm Emergence -45% Change in seeding depth from soil throw

9 Discrete Element Method (DEM) for simulation of soil-tool interactions

10 Furrow opener affects soil layer mixing results Knife opener - 35 Knife opener - 90

11 Straight openers vs bentleg openers Knife opener Bentleg opener

12 Bentleg openers do not mix soil layers Knife opener Bentleg opener 12 km/h

13 Other DEM modelling applications Source: EDEM

14 Crop residue handling limitations with tine seeders Residue clumping Implement blockage

15 Tine seeder machine factors for residue handling

16 Inter-row sowing: DGPS RTK guidance to 2cm accuracy

17 Benefits of Narrow Rows 1. Reduced competition between grain producing plants 2. greater competitive ability against weeds 3. quicker shading of the ground 4. better use of shallow inter-row moisture 5. lower fertiliser toxicity risks (dilution) Source: Peter Newman, Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative

18 Increasing seed bed utilisation with tine seeders Centre row split banded Paired row split banded

19 DISC vs TINE seeders: Why do Australian farmers adopt disc seeders? Ability to retain heavy crop residue Ability to minimise soil disturbance High speed capability (12-15 km/h) Uniformity of seed placement Narrow row spacing ( m) Ability to handle stones without disturbance Ability to cut through creeper weeds Low pull requirements

20 Disc seeder limitations experienced by farmers Poor handling of sticky soils (68%) Inadequate herbicide incorporation* (38%) Lack of ground penetration ability (35%) Residue hairpinning (34%) Early bearings failure* (34%) Damage and high wear in stony soils Irregular seed placement Poor furrow closure in wet compact clays Crop damage from pre-em herbicides Poor disc drive in soft soils High draft in compacted soils Furrow smearing & compaction in wet clay

21 Crop residue handling limitations with disc seeders Residue hairpinning

22 The effect of hairpinning with disc seeders + Residue - Residue -44% Emergence

23 Managing Hairpinning Complementary approach: 1. Minimise residue interaction i. Minimise straw on the ground ii. Row cleaners (residue manager) 2. Maximise cutting performance

24 Managing Hairpinning Complementary approach: 1. Minimise residue interaction 2. Maximise cutting performance i. Maintain sharpness ii. Increase speed ratio iii. Optimise disc size for depth

25 An innovative approach to cutting residue: The AquaTill TM Liquid coulter AQUA-TILL is a registered trademark of Flow International Corporation. AQUA-TILL Provisional Patent US#

26 Ultra High Pressure (UHP) waterjet cutting Concept originated in the mid-late 1800s to excavate material and remove debris in the mining industry. UHP cutting technology developed in the s for the wood, metal and plastic manufacturing industries for fast and precise (abrasive) cutting. Today, UHP waterjet cutting is used widely in the food industry for hygienic, effective clean and damageless cutting 3800 bar / 5500psi

27 Lab, Plot and Farm Activities in AQUA-TILL is a registered trademark of Flow International Corporation. AQUA-TILL Provisional Patent US# Images: Gregory Butler AquaTill activities (Australia)

28 AquaTill TM Liquid coulter easily cuts through thick residue

29 Early tests show improved crop establishment in thick residue

30 Factors affecting the efficacy of UHP waterjet cutting Machine related Water pressure (energy loading) Orifice size (flow rate L/min) Stand-off distance (optimum jet strength) Travel speed (exposure time) Liquid type (density, abrasives) Factors controllable in the field Straw related Stiffness of straw (crop type, variety, age, season, nutrition management) Cutting location on stem Stem diameter Quantity (t/ha) Straw moisture content Compression of stems Stem orientation

31 Laboratory evaluation of AquaTill TM residue cutting capacity (t/ha)

32 Mais Informacoes para futuros parceiros: Fabricante de maquinas Fazendeiro progressivo Pesquisador inovador www. aquatill. com flowcorp. com FLOW Brasil, Tecnologia e Centro de Treinamento Rua do Curtume, 694 Lapa São Paulo SP Brasil Tel: flowlatino@flowcorp.com

33 Crop establishment across variable soil types 2014 trial, sandy soil 12 subplots along 205m long plots, from stony flat to deep sand hill District technology vs improved seeding systems Very moist conditions at seeding + good follow up rainfall

34 Seeding into variable soil types Relative to mid-slope Relative to mid-slope 0.85

35 Improving crop establishment in variable soil types Independent seed banding system Independent system = SeedHawk RATIO Independent system / control

36 Improving crop establishment in variable soil types Independent disc seeding system

37 Non-wetting (hydrophobic) sands 16.6% of low-medium rainfall cropping land 2.2M ha ~70% of cropped sandy soils *Unkovich et al *Map by Juliet Creek Consulting

38 Improved access to soil moisture in hydrophobic sands via on-row sowing Source: CSIRO, T. McBeath Photo: CSIRO, M. Roper Water follows intact roots of prior crop rows Inter-row vs on-row Inter-row vs on-row

39 Improved crop establishment in hydrophobic sands via on-row sowing On-row sowing Triple disc system 10 row spacing, 7.5 km/h Wheat 85kg/ha (ds = 4cm) Non wetting sand Inter-row sowing 80-87% emergence 30 Days after sowing 66-74% emergence Low, uneven moisture and drying soil conditions at sowing Poor follow-up rainfall (10mm rainfall in 6 events over 4 weeks)

40 GPS guided draw-bar hitch to improve accuracy for edge-row sowing

41 Conclusions With up to 90% no-till adoption in Australia, the current research focus is on improving cropping system performance and efficiency Widespread use of precision guidance for inter-row and edge row sowing achieves many agronomic and practical benefits Advanced computer modelling techniques (DEM) facilitate the optimisation of seeder performance Seeder machinery research is integrated into multi-disciplinary farming system research involving farmers Recent seeder related innovations in Australia include: i) ultra high pressure liquid coulter technology providing high residue handling capacity ii) Bentleg furrow openers providing high loosening capacity with no soil throw Collaboration and information sharing is a key driver to success

42 Looking Forward 1. Cost-effective subsoil constraint amelioration and mitigation techniques (e.g. low fertility deep sands, sodic clays subsoils, non wetting) 1. Maximising single seed potential in winter crops: combining singulation metering with precision placement (e.g. hybrid canola, pulses and cereals) 2. Improving conservation agriculture quality including sustainable crop-livestock integration

43 Muito Obrigado!!