Mechanical cultivation for weeds

[JoeBiscuit]

Not wanting to spray 10 acres of row crops for weeds every year, is getting a dedicated cultivator like a Farmall Cub, or Model A, or 140 or Super C still a realistic method of weed control? Or is using a high wheeled tractor and cultivators a technology that is past it's time?

Thanks for the input.

 

[boomer1025]

Not wanting to spray 10 acres of row crops for weeds every year, is getting a dedicated cultivator like a Farmall Cub, or Model A, or 140 or Super C still a realistic method of weed control? Or is using a high wheeled tractor and cultivators a technology that is past it's time?

Thanks for the input.

Years ago no one sprayed crops, all cultivated with a tractor around here.
Now it's all sprayed. What it boils down too is if you don't mind some weeds, then cultivate, if you what very little to no weeds spray. If you like driving a tractor, then cultivate. Any of the small older tractors make good cultivators.

 

[smstonypoint]

According to the USDA, 70+% of the 2011 corn and cotton acreage and 94% of the 2011 soybean acreage was planted with herbicide-tolerant (HT) varieties, all up from minuscule amounts in 1996 (ERS/USDA Data - Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S.). So, cultivation is still taking place on some acreage, but that acreage is dwindling. I suspect that some acreage will continue to be cultivated by organic row-crop producers.

The last time I checked, prototype enterprise budgets didn't show much of a return advantage for HT crops over non-HT crops. However, I suspect the HT crops have an advantage in scheduling field operations.

My guess is that that use of HT varieties would be more cost effective if you already have the spraying equipment but would have to acquire a tractor and equipment for cultivation for 10 acres. However, you would have to pencil out your costs to make the decision.

In my area, the only row crop still cultivated is tobacco, and I don't remember seeing wide-row soybeans over the last 10 years or so.

Steve

 

[chrisdvorak]

all organic vegetable farms use some sort of cultivating tractor(s) there are a lot of different methods that can be used and it all depends on crops, soil types, ect. to find the best one(s). for example the farm I work for grows almost every vegetable there is and we have two kubota cultivating tractors, one is set up with basket weeders the other has sweeps. the key to cultivating is to get the weeds when they are small! also the hotter the day the better.

 

[Baby Grand]

all organic vegetable farms use some sort of cultivating tractor(s) there are a lot of different methods that can be used and it all depends on crops, soil types, ect. to find the best one(s). for example the farm I work for grows almost every vegetable there is and we have two kubota cultivating tractors, one is set up with basket weeders the other has sweeps. the key to cultivating is to get the weeds when they are small! also the hotter the day the better.

Any chance you could post a few pictures of those set ups? I'm very interested in how a farm that is actually doing this and making it work sets up its equipment. I'd like to try it for myself, and seeing how it's done would save me from a lot of wasted "try and fail" time.

 

[bp fick]

all organic vegetable farms use some sort of cultivating tractor(s) there are a lot of different methods that can be used and it all depends on crops, soil types, ect. to find the best one(s). for example the farm I work for grows almost every vegetable there is and we have two kubota cultivating tractors, one is set up with basket weeders the other has sweeps. the key to cultivating is to get the weeds when they are small! also the hotter the day the better.

Yes we do. There is a divide, of sorts, in agriculture and the non-gmo segment is growing very fast in the grain sectors. Non roundup ready grains, beans, and vegetables will almost always command a higher price.

Non-gmo fed chickens, hogs and beef also constitute a very healthy market share, at attractive prices. There really is two different markets now and the grower can evaluate and choose which he wishes to enter.

Differing equipment being required, to some extent, this will be interesting to watch as we go forward.

 

[chrisdvorak]

personally, my favorite cultivating tractors are the high wheeled kubota's we have two of them with mid mounted toolbars. one always has the basket weeder and the other has sweeps that we can constantly adjust if need be. here is the website and there are some pics of the machines. greenviewfarmri.com

 

[Baby Grand]

I like the offset - similar to a Farmall Cub?
Thanks for the link!

 

[firefighter9208]

Here are some pictures of the result of manual cultivation.

The first one is of my 83 year old grandfather on his Farmall 140 cultivating sweet corn.

I have also included some pictures of the pumpkins that we are currently growing.

There is a before and after picture of a pumpkin plant and morning glories. I manually cultivated with a hoe. Then plowed with my Farmall 140.

They key to cultivation is to do it often and when the weeds are small. Then to cultivate just before the crop gets too big. I cultivated these pumpkins when they were just starting to run and the vines covered the ground before the weeds could germinate again.

I do plant Round-up ready field corn. The season is too long and the weeds have too much of an opportunity to come up in cultivated corn that is left to dry in the field. JMO

 

[Short Game]

That would look great on the livingroom wall.

 

[firefighter9208]

I've been meaning to get it printed. I was on my Kubota M4800 getting ground ready to plant the pumpkins. I looked up and saw grandad on the hilltop plowing. I took that picture with my Motorola Droid cell phone.

Chris

 

[bjr]

The high wheel small garden tractors are hard to find. I've 35hp 4 wheel drive Jinma and was thinking of putting a farmer built midmount cultvator on it. I've posted question about doing so, but, I must of been the only one that wanted to mount a cultvator in the middle of a modern tractor. Ground clearance will be a issue for sure. I've considered putting 4" taller tire all the way around, but then, besides the initial cost of the wheels and tires, the speed of the tractor would increase some as well. Has anyone ever mid mounted a cultivator on a newer 4 wheel drive tractor? bjr

 

[chrisdvorak]

yes, they are high wheeled and offset for better visibility.

 

[bp fick]

Remember the old adage. "Best time to cultivate or hoe for weeds is before you see them."

 

[flusher]

Not wanting to spray 10 acres of row crops for weeds every year, is getting a dedicated cultivator like a Farmall Cub, or Model A, or 140 or Super C still a realistic method of weed control? Or is using a high wheeled tractor and cultivators a technology that is past it's time?

Thanks for the input.

I have a 1948 Farmall Cub and a 1951 Farmall Super A. You can find these models pretty regularly on eBay and Craigslist (where I found these two). I paid $1100 for the Cub and $1300 for the Super A. Why not invest in something like this and try cultivating with them for a while? If you don't like it, you can sell the tractor pretty easily.

Good luck.

 

[Duffster]

According to the USDA, 70+% of the 2011 corn and cotton acreage and 94% of the 2011 soybean acreage was planted with herbicide-tolerant (HT) varieties, all up from minuscule amounts in 1996 (ERS/USDA Data - Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S.). So, cultivation is still taking place on some acreage, but that acreage is dwindling. I suspect that some acreage will continue to be cultivated by organic row-crop producers.

Those numbers tell us the percentage of GE-HT crops planted. The bulk of the balance are still most likely sprayed with herbicide.

 

[JoeBiscuit]

Thanks for the input guys. It's good to know people are still growing w/o constant spraying.

ChrisD: That high wheel kubota is a NICE looking tractor. I'd hope to be able to move up to a dedicated tractor that nice one day. Until then I'll probably start with an older/smaller machine.

Flusher: I've looked at some older machines, but don't have any experience with any of them. Obviously the cub has some appeal with it's smaller size, and the A has more power and ground clearance. If you've used the two machines, which would be your go to choice for dedicated cultivating?

Thanks,

 

[jfay]

You would be better off with a Super A, 100, 130 or 140. Great cultivating tractor and better availability of parts and attachments, both new and used. Not much of a price difference over a Cub.

 

[flusher]

Thanks for the input guys. It's good to know people are still growing w/o constant spraying.

ChrisD: That high wheel kubota is a NICE looking tractor. I'd hope to be able to move up to a dedicated tractor that nice one day. Until then I'll probably start with an older/smaller machine.

Flusher: I've looked at some older machines, but don't have any experience with any of them. Obviously the cub has some appeal with it's smaller size, and the A has more power and ground clearance. If you've used the two machines, which would be your go to choice for dedicated cultivating?

Thanks,

My Cub and Super A are retired parade tractors. If I had to use one for cultivation, I'd chose the Super A (more power, 3pt hitch gives more choices for implements).

 

[YesDeere]

I am still setting up the cultivators on my great grandfathers 48 cub. Ran out of time for the early grow season. But I plan on using it for kale and collards this fall. I need 2 more shanks for the sweeps. Just rebuilt the carb and clean her all up. Sure is a fun little tractor. Also has quite a following. Just google farmall cub