Applying part of the crop's total nitrogen at this stage reduces nitrogen losses that may occur from fall or early spring applications. Some conventional cultivators can be modified to handle residue but may not have sufficient strength to carry the extra weight needed for penetration. However, some older cultivators easily can be modified to handle soybean residue or low amounts of corn and grain sorghum residue. Cultivators with five shanks per row have difficulty maintaining residue flow through the row units. One solution is to remove some shanks and place wider sweeps on the remaining shanks, especially the one centered between rows.
Some farmers also change shank arrangement.
Conventional shank arrangement for a shovel-type cultivator. Modified shank arrangement for a shovel-type cultivator to allow residue flow. This arrangement concentrates residue into the trailing center shank that can cause plugging. This allows the residue to flow past the first shovel and to be distributed evenly between the two shovels near the row. Remember to run all sweeps sufficiently deep so the soil will help move the residue over the sweep.