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Organic Grain in the current market
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Tillage
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Tillage

Organic growers often use alternative tillage, minimum tillage and minimum inversion soil tillage techniques. Minimum inversion tillage includes various techniques that reduce the amount of ‘turning over’ of soil, and leave the vertical structure of the soil profile almost intact.

These cultivation systems may require the acquisition of different tools. Appropriate treatments include:

• Permanent beds or tramways, so that wheel traffic is never applied to the actual growing area. Permanent minimum tillage beds are generally combined with precision planting techniques
• Deep loosening techniques including ripping and shaking or aerating tools
• Alternative tillage including use of Rollison ploughs (ground driven star weeders) and the Lely Roterra, or similar machines
• Inter-row weeders such as finger or needle weeders
• Rod weeders
• Furrow ploughs or disk ploughs used carefully when soil moisture is ideal and with attention to varying the depth of use (or combining with deep ripping) to avoid development of a hardpan
• Tine cultivators used at shallow depth