Autumn ploughing – its importance and advantages

For experienced gardeners and farmers, there is no need to repeat why autumn plowing is important. However, repetition is the mother of wisdom, so it is not wrong to repeat some things from time to time, or even to learn something.

It is not useless to remember how rare and important soil is for us: Soil is one of the most important and very difficult to renew natural resources. It is a basic means of production for human nutrition and at the same time it is one of the components of the environment. The productive and non-productive functions of the soil are irreplaceable. However, the soil is exposed to increasing anthropogenic loads, and therefore a due care must be taken in the tillage technologies that reduce the negative effects on its condition. Simply, we are on the ground – dependent.

Autumn plowing is the basic activity of almost anyone who manages a garden or field. The main tasks of autumn plowing are to “open” the soil to receive autumn and winter precipitation and plow the post-harvest residues so that carbon is not lost in the air during their decomposition. According to several experts, it is important not to confuse autumn plowing with summer, in other words – the deeper autumn plowing, the better. Naturally within certain rules and restrictions, which are given mainly by soil conditions. The timing of plowing and the method of treating the plow surface are also evaluated as a moisture-saving approach.

Perhaps the most common mistake of autumn plowing is the plowing at unsuitable humidity, when the plowing body smears the soil and compresses the bottom of the topsoil, where a compacted layer is formed, the so-called plowing pan. In the first year it is only a centimeter to two, in the next, especially when repeating the same depth of plowing, this compacted soil layer increases two to three times and subsequently affects both the depth of crop rooting and soil management with moisture.

Autumn tillage should primarily fulfill the following functions:

• reduce unproductive water evaporation by loosening the topsoil,
• enable germinated plants, organic plant residues and, where appropriate, organic and industrial fertilizers to be integrated into the required soil depth,
• provide the conditions for the restoration of the water and air regime of the soil for the following growing season,
• to take care of restoring the structural condition not only in the topsoil but also by removing the compacted subsoil,
• to level the soil surface and thus create suitable conditions for one-time or even very shallow spring soil preparation,
• to create suitable conditions for the possible cultivation of catch crops,
• better access to nutrients,
• better drying and faster rising of soil temperature, especially in spring.

And why is autumn plowing more advantageous than spring plowing?

• because the soil is ready for spring planting in early spring,
• organic matter decomposes better because soil temperatures are higher in autumn and early winter than in advanced winter and early spring,
• insects, pathogens and weeds are killed or reduced by exposure to winter weather.

Though, there are also opinions that plowing is not suitable and it is an outdated method of soil preparation. However, plowing also complies with modern ecological trends. Due to the suppression of weed growth, a lower consumption of herbicides is required. New plants in the soil are less exposed to plant residues, thus reducing the possibility of fungi spreading and thus the need for fungicides. In a survey of farmers in Germany and France in 2015, up to 80% said that an important advantage of plowing is the reduction in the amount of chemicals needed to prevent the growth of weeds, especially those that are difficult to eradicate. And more than 60% of farmers consider plowing to be a fundamental step in land management.

The two-wheel tractor AGZAT with the attached plough can significantly facilitate the autumn tillage in gardens where a large tractor cannot reach and also in smaller fields. We also checked AGZAT AGRO PROFI DIF (with differential) with Yamaha MA190 engine during this year’s autumn plowing and we are completely satisfied with the result:

Used sources:

1. agroporadenstvo.sk, article: Obrábanie pôdy v letnom a jesennom období, author: doc. Ing. Jozef. Ďuďák, CSc.
2. https://www.lsuagcenter.com/, article: Plowing Garden In Fall-Winter Has Advantages Over Spring Tilling, author: Thomas J. Koske
3. nik.bg, article: Profitable ploughing