Direct drilling sugar beet
- Thread starter Zan
- Start date
Ruston3w
Member
- Location
- south suffolk
hello, do you really mean no cults.....not even ld subsoiler in autumn? we have tried lots of dd beet ideas but no no-till, place some n is essential IMHO.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
I think you are right. Beet has one of the best tap roots of any crop and will grow down into some fairly hard ground and still do well. In fact it does worst in over cultivated soils that slump.
My mate used to plough his stony land and power Harrow and roll it till it was like the surface of the M1 then drill his beet. But he still had a good yield. If it could grow there then DD into stubbles on kind land should work. Lash a conventional beet drill behind a Mzuri or something. Been wondering about this myself but the powers that be won't spend the money and they left a mat of chopped straw which just about rules DD out for me unfortunately.
Ruston3w
Member
- Location
- south suffolk
well, I can't speak for any ground but my own, low om sand/grave/patchy clays. If I subsoil only on better fields in the autumn then Fert availability, slugs,poor seed/soil contact are all problems. I only started using a rake this year so early days but have had super beet on difficult fields with a shallow pass with disc/tine then subsoil, DD ring press sets up ridges to weather and drill knocks them down in the spring..This year I drilled cc with simtech following a rake in lieu of cults, then subsoiled straight behind...time will tell! the lighter land will be cc, sheep grazed, re=grow, spray.strip-till, drill. Both approaches do give slightly "nipped" shaped beet but I think (hope) the reduced damage we do harvesting/less erosion/less capping events make up for shape, for that reason idon't think I would true dd beet.
Ruston3w
Member
- Location
- south suffolk
the nearest to you I know is a guy near Peterborough, right on the A1, bought a new 12row Kleine( KV branded) I bought the 6 row he had for 2 yrs before to replace my 15yr old kleine. He was drilling into sprayed off blackgrass on his farm and neighbour.
Ruston3w
Member
- Location
- south suffolk
I would ring garford, though they don't sell that drill now they would tell you i'm sure......probably might know someone nearer with a mulch drill? If not I would try an find his details in my books, about three yrs ago I think......could be done. He was at Sawtry, farm drive between those two big new industrial buildings to the east of the new a1m, access off the old road.....
SilliamWhale
Member
I no tilled some fodder beet this year and to be honest I cocked it up because slugs ate nearly all of it. But those that did come (very few) are huge and very well shaped. Will try again next year but will mix with pellets. I think it has potential for fodder beet so will practice again
Ruston3w
Member
- Location
- south suffolk
of course , in the god old days when they had two minutes to help you would just ask your BS fieldsman.......will know who and where i,m sure.
Dan Powell
Member
- Location
- Shropshire
Drilled with the 750 ?
Quite fancy a few for grazing but I think the ground would get hammered too much to no till again after.
SilliamWhale
Member
Well im planning spring wheat after. Maybe subsoil headland
SilliamWhale
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
I'm hoping to build a micro subsoiler to fit between the tractor and the beet drill. A small subsoiler leg will run in front of each drill unit. Will clear path, loosen and create a small amount of tilth. Not sure which. Would be best leg. Will need to go through the catalogues.