page_title: Plough
section_title: Chisel plough
hierarchical_section_title: Plough / Specialist ploughs / Chisel plough
caption_attribution_description: English: A John Deere 8110 plowing a field using a chisel plow somewhere in the USA. The tractor is one of the more modern John Deere tractors, having been built in 2001. The tractor has a transmission that does not require the operator to depress the clutch when shifting gears. The cab is built for operator efficiency and comfort. The cab is climate controlled and has a radio with the AM/FM/Weather Radio bands. All of the main controls for the tractor are built into the right armrest, and are positioned so that the most important controls would be at the operator's fingertips. This photo was taken on my parents' farm by me in April of 2004.
context_page_description: A plough or plow is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or steel frame, with a blade attached to cut and loosen the soil. It has been fundamental to farming for most of history. The earliest ploughs had no wheels, such a plough being known to the Romans as an aratrum. Celtic peoples first came to use wheeled ploughs in the Roman era.
  The prime purpose of ploughing is to turn over the uppermost soil, so bringing fresh nutrients to the surface, while burying weeds and crop remains to decay. Trenches cut by the plough are called furrows. In modern use, a ploughed field is normally left to dry and then harrowed before planting. Ploughing and cultivating soil evens the content of the upper 12 to 25 centimetres layer of soil, where most plant-feeder roots grow.
  Ploughs were initially powered by humans, but the use of farm animals was considerably more efficient. The earliest beasts used were oxen. Later horses and mules were used in many areas.
context_section_description: The chisel plough is a common tool for deep tillage (prepared land) with limited soil disruption. Its main function is to loosen and aerate the soils, while leaving crop residue on top. This plough can be used to reduce the effects of soil compaction and to help break up ploughpan and hardpan. Unlike many other ploughs, the chisel will not invert or turn the soil. This feature has made it a useful addition to no-till and low-till farming practices that attempt to maximise the erosion-preventing benefits of keeping organic matter and farming residues present on the soil surface throughout the year. Thus the chisel plough is considered by some to be more sustainable than other types of plough, such as the mould-board plough.
  Chisel ploughs are becoming more popular as a primary tillage tool in row-crop farming areas. Basically the chisel plough is a heavy-duty field cultivator intended to operate at depths from 15 cm [6 in] to as much as 46 cm [18 in]. However some models may run much deeper. Each individual plough  or shank is typically set from nine inches (229 mm) to twelve inches (305 mm) apart. Such a plough can meet significant soil drag, so that a tractor of sufficient power and traction is required. When planning to plough with a chisel plough, it is important to note that 10–20 horsepower (7.5 to 15 kW) per shank will be required, depending on depth.
  Pull-type chisel ploughs are made in working widths from about 2.5 m (8 ft) up to 13.7 m (45 ft). They are tractor mounted, and working depth is hydraulically controlled. Those more than about 4 m (13 ft) wide may be equipped with folding wings to reduce transport width. Wider machines may have the wings supported by individual wheels and hinge joints to allow flexing of the machine over uneven ground. The wider models usually have a wheel each side to control working depth. Three-point hitch-mounted units are made in widths from about 1.5 m to 9 m (5–30 ft).
  Cultivators are often similar in form to chisel ploughs, but their goals are different. Cultivator teeth work near the surface, usually for weed control, whereas chisel plough shanks work deep under the surface. So cultivation takes much less power per shank than does chisel ploughing.
caption: A modern John Deere 8110 Farm Tractor using a chisel plough. The ploughing tines are at the rear, the refuse-cutting coulters at the front.
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