Performance Evaluation of the Row Cleaner on a No-Till Planter

Abstract. Proper seed placement is an important component of crop production. No-till seeding requires drills capable of cutting through large quantities of crop residue and penetrating untilled soil. This study evaluated the performance of a row cleaner attached to a no-till planter. The residue on the row surface, the hairpinned residue, the uniformity of seed distribution along the length of the row, and the emergence rate when planting corn (Zea mays) as a second crop after wheat (Triticum aestivum) harvesting were investigated. The second crop of corn was planted using a no-till planter with and without a row cleaner at 5 and 6.5 km h^-1 planting speeds after the wheat harvest. The results indicated that the row cleaner reduced the amount of residue on the surface of a row as well as the hairpinned residue. Residue removal was higher at the higher planting speed. At the 5 km h^-1 planting speed, the amount of hairpinned residue was higher than that at the 6 km h^-1 planting speed. The emergence rate and the uniformity of seed distribution along the length of the row were better with the row cleaner than without this attachment. The quality of feed index, a measure of how often the spacings are close to the theoretical spacing, was significantly higher with the row cleaner than without it. The planting speed of 6.5 km h^-1 resulted in a higher value of the quality of feed index compared to the 5 km h^-1 speed.