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Tillage is the manipulation of soil by mechanical forces. The purpose of tillage tool design is to create a mechanical system, that is, a tillage machine or a series of machines capable of controlling the applied forces in order to achieve a desired soil condition. As a matter of definition, a tillage tool will be considered a single soilworking element whereas a tillage implement or machine will be considered a group of soil-working elements. A tillage implement or machine will include the frame, wheels, or other structural units that are needed for guidance and support. Although tillage is nearly always effected with an implement, the emphasis here will be on the design of tillage tools rather than implements. The pressing need for design information has demanded that methods for design be developed. In fact, the need is so great that qualitative procedures have been and still are widely used. The qualitative procedures have often been based on art rather than science (121, 269). That these procedures must be changed if progress is to be made in tillage tool design is clearly demonstrated by the history of tillage tools.