What are the advantages and disadvantages of rotary tillers compared with traditional plowing?

The advantages of rotary tillers

Increase yield and quality: Rotary tillers can level the land more effectively, remove weeds and root systems, and reduce pests and diseases, thereby increasing the yield and quality of crops.

Save time and energy: Rotary tillers have high operational efficiency and can quickly complete large-scale farming, saving farmers' time and energy.

Strong adaptability: Rotary tillers are suitable for various soil types, including plots with high water content, and can eliminate the need for harrowing, saving time and labor.

Versatile functions: The rotary tiller can not only break up soil, mix fertilizer and weed, but also perform shallow ploughing and loosening of soil, with adjustable working depth.

The disadvantages of rotary tillers:

High cost: The design and manufacture of rotary tillers are rather complex, their prices are relatively high, and they are difficult to maintain, making them unsuitable for small-scale farmers.

There are requirements for soil moisture: When working in overly dry or overly moist soil, it may affect the rotary tillage effect and machine performance.

Shallow plough layer: The depth of rotary tillage operation is generally around 15cm. Sometimes, due to improper operation, it may not reach the required depth, affecting the growth of subsequent crops.

Sowing depth: After rotary tillage, the soil layer in the plot is loose, which makes it easy for seeds to be sown too deep or at uneven depths, affecting seedling emergence.

The problem of straw returning to the field: When rotary tillage is carried out in straw-returning fields, the straw gets stuck in the soil layer, which can easily clog the seeder and lead to missing seedlings and broken ridges.

Reduced water retention capacity: After rotary tillage, the soil in the plot has large gaps, and water is prone to loss, resulting in a reduced water retention capacity and an increased risk of frost damage

The advantages of traditional ploughing

Deep plough layer: The plough layer of ploughing is relatively deep, usually reaching 20-30cm, which is conducive to improving soil quality and promoting crop growth.

Straw treatment: Ploughing can turn the straw into the ground, accelerating the rate of straw decomposition and preventing the seeder from getting clogged during sowing.

Water and nutrient retention: After ploughing, harrowing and compaction are carried out to make the soil compact, increasing its water and nutrient retention capacity and enhancing the crop's stress resistance.

The disadvantages of traditional ploughing

Time-consuming and laborious: It takes about one hour to plough and harrow one mu of land, which is time-consuming and laborious, and requires manual fertilization.

Insufficient soil fragmentation: The soil after ploughing is not finely fragmented by rotary tillage, and some large soil lumps will appear in the field.

Not suitable for clay or high moisture content plots: Clay or plots with high moisture content are not very easy to carry out ploughing and harrowing work