Patent ID: 9706705
Date: 2017-07-18
CPC Classifications: A01C

Claim:
1. A method of planting multiple types of seed in a single planting pass during planting of an agricultural field with a twin-row planter, the method comprising: defining a first seed type and a second seed type stored with respect to a twin-row planter to be correspondingly planted in a first zone and a second zone of an agricultural field, wherein the first and second zones correspond to first and second characteristics of the agricultural field relating to at least one of soil type and management type, wherein the twin-row planter includes multiple planter row segments for planting multiple crop rows within the agricultural field and wherein each of the row segments includes a pair of seed meters; positioning a first seed meter of the pair of seed meters of each row segment adjacent a second seed meter of the pair of seed meters of each row segment at a location transversely and longitudinally spaced from the second seed meter of the pair of seed meters of each row segment; priming the first seed meter of the pair of seed meters at each of the planter row segments with the first seed type by rotating a seed disk of the first seed meter through the first seed meter picking up and singulating seeds of the first seed type; holding the seed disk of the first seed meter in a primed-ready-to-plant position wherein the seed disk is held in a non-rotating position with the singulated seeds carried by the seed disk at spaced-apart locations on the seed disk; priming the second seed meter of the pair of seed meters at each of the planter row segments with the second seed type by rotating a seed disk of the second seed meter through the second seed meter picking up and singulating seeds of the second seed type; holding the seed disk of the second seed meter in a primed-ready-to-plant position wherein the seed disk is held in a non-rotating position with the singulated seeds carried by the seed disk at spaced-apart locations on the seed disk; moving the twin-row planter through the agricultural field along a travel path having a starting point within the first zone of the agricultural field; activating the first seed meter while moving the twin-row planter along the travel path through the first zone by rotating the seed disk of the first seed meter for releasing seeds of the first seed type from the first seed meter onto the first zone of the agricultural field; and deactivating the second seed meter by maintaining the holding of the seed disk of the second seed meter in the primed-ready-to-plant position while releasing the seeds of the first seed type from the first seed meter onto the first zone of the agricultural field.