Row cleaners should remove a uniform amount of residue in the row area. Adjustment and maintenance of operating depth of the row cleaners is important. In most cases, adjust row cleaners to skim the soil surface, removing mostly residue and little additional soil. An exception may be in ridges where additional soil is removed to displace weeds and surface weed seed in the row. Possible modifications and adjustments to a row crop planter for satisfactory performance in high residue depend on the producer's equipment type and objectives.
Endless variations exist.
For example, a producer may desire some type of tillage in the row ahead of the planter and attach fluted coulters or other soil-engaging tools on the planter frame ahead of the seed opener. A decision on the possible application or use of a planter attachment is easier when the operator has planting objectives and knows how a particular attachment may or may not further such objectives. In the field, producers should stay flexible and be willing to experiment and adjust for changing soil and residue situations. Choi, C. H. and d. C. Erbach. 1968. Cornstalk residue shearing by rolling coulters.