Kverneland Kultistrip
Product information 2015
Kverneland Kultistrip
Kultistrip- Content
 1. Strip-Till introduction
 2. Tillage
 3. Pros for the soil and the plants
 4. Risks and cons
 5. Kverneland Kultistrip
 6. Combinations
 7. Field tests 2013
 8. Field tests 2014
 9. Main advantages
1. Strip-Till Introduction
1. Strip-Till Introduction
1. Strip-Till introduction
• Strip-Till was developed around
1990 by American farmers
• Strip-Till is an advancement of
the direct-drilling system
• Cold and wet soils are not
suited for direct drilling of
maize
• Solution was here to till only
the soil under the plant-rows
• Use in the US mainly for maize
after maize or after soya
• The stripes are mainly formed
in the autumn
1. Strip-Till introduction
• Around the year 2000 strip-till swopped
over to Europe
• Strip-Till is here seen as a further
development of the conservational tillage
• In Europe, we are talking about different
cultures to drill after strip-till
• Also the conditions are different (strawyields, intermediate crops, …)
• Small row-widths (sugar-beets) are not
easy to suite with US strip-till machines
1. Strip-Till introduction
Possible cultures:
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Maize
Sugar-beets
Oilseed-rape
Sunflower
Horse beans
Sorghum
Soya
Vegetables (cabbage)
(Cereals)
2. Tillage
In the classic Strip-Till system there are only two
operations possible to establish a crop:
1. Tilling the stripes
2. Seeding with a precision seeder
2. Tillage
In Europe the so called intensive Strip-Till was
developed:
1. Shallow stubble-cultivation
2. Tilling the stripes
3. Seeding with a precision seeder
2. Tillage
classic, American setting of a Strip-Till row-unit
Fertilizer-tube
Trash-wheel
Press-wheel
Side-disc
Cutting-disc
Loosening-tine
2. Tillage
In the US most of the stripes will be tilled in the
autumn, to get a seedbed prepared by frost
this could be also a solution for heavy soils
2. Tillage
In Europe is it possible to till the stripes on light to
medium soils in spring-time!
2. Tillage
GPS-guidance of the tractor is a critical part of the StripTill system
RTK-systems (+/- 2 cm) can
guide the tractor with high
precision
Normal GPS-systems (+/- 15) without
RTK must be overridden by hand, but
sometimes you don’t get the needed
precision
2. Tillage
GPS-guidance of the tractor is a critical part of the StripTill system
But anyway the best way is to have the
working widths of the strip-till unit and of
the seeder identically or maximum twice
3. Pros for the soil and the plants
• the dark surface of the stripe enables the sun to warm up the soil much
quicker
• The loosened soil leads to air-circulation
• Thanks to the air-circulation, the soil can dry and warm up
• This is very important for cultures like sugar-beet and maize
• Big advantage in comparison to direct drilling
3. Pros for the soil and the plants
Hermann, 2013
• Pictures of two trials in Germany after 8 mm of
rain falling down in 15 minutes
• The soil in the left conservational-trial was not
able to infiltrate the water
• Thanks to the natural soil structure in the interrow area, the rain could be infiltrated and stored
3. Pros for the soil and the plants
Plough
Strip-Till
Strip-Till intensive
soil lost (g/m²)
soil lost (g/m²)
Plough
Strip-Till
Strip-Till intensive
minutes
Plough
Strip-Till
Strip-Till intenisve
Übelhör, 2012
3. Pros for the soil and the plants
Strip-Till
conservational
• Undisturbed areas in the inter-row can save moisture in the soil
and do not dry out so fast
• Plant-residues or straw on the surface protect the soil for
unproductive drying out
3. Pros for the soil and the plants
Changed weed control management
In the non-cultivated areas
between the rows no weedseeds, out of former years can
come up to the surface
Residues and straw on the
surface enable light-seeds to
emerge
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3. Pros for the soil and the plants
• Energy-saving by only tilling the areas, where afterwards the plants will
grow
• At 75 cm row-spacing there will be only 30 % of the soil moved
• At 45 cm row-spacing there will be only 50 % of the soil moved
• on top you can save time, due to one-pass operation for seedbed
preparation
You can reach the same yields like in full width-cultivation with
less soil preparation
Pulling-force per meter working-width (kN/m)
3. Pros for the soil and the plants
Plough
Strip-Till 1
Strip-Till 2
Strip-Till 3
Direct-seeding
Lummer, 2011
You can reach the same yields like in full width-cultivation with
less soil preparation
3. Pros for the soil and the plants
New options for fertilizer management!
• Placing the fertilizer in one pass together with the tillage
saves field passes
• The fertilizer is directly located, where the plants it needed
and the fertilizer can be absorbed much quicker
• New fertilizer options for oilseed-rape and sugar-beet, but also
advantages in maize, cause of a boost in root-development
3. Pros for the soil and the plants
New options for fertilizer management!
• Incorporation of slurry by building up the
stripes
• Saving of additional working-passes
(incorporation with cultivator)
• Compliance with European laws
• Important in this fact is the precise
distance between the seed and the slurry
• The maximum amount of slurry has to be
considered (25 m³ )
• Not every slurry-tanker is able to use a
strip-till unit (pulling-force)
3. Pros for the soil and the plants
New options for fertilizer management!
Talking about slurry-injection, we have to use Piadin to
stabilize the Ammonium!
Laurenz, 2012
4. Risks and cons
Erosion is also in Strip-Till possible!
The stripes has to be made perpendicular to the
slope.
4. Risks and cons
GPS-systems
• GPS-systems are not
everywhere common
• Prices for such systems are
declining at the moment
• Bad connection can lead to
breakdowns of the guidancesystem
• Driftage on sloped fields has to
be corrected by the GPSsystem, especially by trailed
machines
4. Risks and cons
4. Risks and cons
traffic-lanes
Strip-Till units are not
subsoilers, because of this
traffic-lanes in the field are a
problem with no real solution
at the moment.
Controlled traffic could be a
solution.
4. Risks and cons
In all cultivation systems with reduced tillage-activities,
slugs are a problem.
But this is also a problem of management!
4. Risks and cons
Mice
• Mice are using the loosen
stripe to built up their burrows
• The mechanical control is not
ensured
• The Stripes must be free of air
pockets (wings at the share)
• New ways of management has
to be found
5. Kverneland Kultistrip
The new option for Strip-Till!
• All adjustments without tools
to make work as simple as
possible
• Fertilizer placement
independent from the workingdepth of the tine
• Spring-loaded parallelograms
lead the rows over the soil
surface
• Strong frame tube with 180 x
180 mm dimension
• Different row-width from 45 to
90 cm
Five tools for a perfect seedbed!
Front-cutting-disc:
• Opens the earth
• Cuts long residues
• Adjustable working-depth
Trash-wheels:
• Move even high
amounts of residue out
of the strip
• Adjustable in downpulling force
Loosening-tine:
• Works down to a depth of
30 cm
• Three different tines
available
Three different tines for all conditions!
straight tine
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Used for light soils
Low mixing-effect
Minimum soil-disturbance
on the surface
Perfect for moistureconservation
angled tine
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Used for light to medium
soils
Good mixing- and crumbling
effect
Perfect for changing soil
conditions
curved tine
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Used for heavy soils
Intensive mix- and
crumbling effect
More aggressive angle of
the point
Perfect for soils with high
percentage of clay
Five tools for a perfect seedbed!
Side-blades:
• Keep loosen earth in the
strip
• Define width and form of
the strip
Press-wheel:
• Recompacts the soil
• Three different press-wheels
for different conditions
Press-wheels for different operations
cage-roller
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Medium recompaction
Crumbling of the soil
surface
Use for light and medium
soils
Perfect to use for slurry
injection
V-press-wheel
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Good recompaction
Recompaction down to 30
cm
Effective crumbling of the
top layer
Use for heavy soils
Limited usage by slurry
injection
Farmflex-wheel
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Good recompaction
Recompaction of the
upper soil area
Effective crumbling of the
top layer
Use for wet or dry
conditions
Use for slurry injection
depends of soil conditions
Kverneland Kultistrip
Application-system included
Fertilizer-tube:
• depth adjustment from 0 – 20
cm, independent from the
working depth of the tine
• Made for all kinds of granular
fertilizer
Slurry-tube:
• depth adjustment from 0 – 20
cm, independent from the
working depth of the tine
• Injection of slurry by making
the stripes
• Big diameter for high volumes
without risk of blockages
All adjustments without tools
All adjustments without tools
Stripes at 45 cm rowspacing before adjustment
of the Kultistrip
Stripes at 45 cm row-spacing
after adjustment
Easy and quick adjustments enable the machine to
produce a perfect seedbed in just one pass!
6. Combination Kultistrip and DF 1 front hopper
6. Combination Kultistrip and slurry-tanker
7. Field tests 2013
• Working with the Kultistrip in the autumn time for spring seeding of sugar
beets
• Directly working in 30 – 40 cm high green mustard
• No recompaction, because this will be done by frost
• Working with the Kultistrip in spring-time for sugar beets
• Directly working in the dead mustard with 45 cm row-spacing
• Seeding sugar beet with 18-row Monopill and John Deere AutoTrac
RTK
• Better conditions in the stripes, made in spring-time (left picture)
• Not enough frost over winter to break the clods in the old stripes
• Sugar-beat-plants one month after seeding
• Preparing stripes for maize after stubble cultivation (intensive strip-till)
• The farmer had a few days before put slurry on this field and worked it in with a
short disc harrow
• Working-depth 25 cm and –speed about 10 km/h
• Maize has grown exactly than in conservational tillage
• The barley has reemerged, because it was not killed chemically
• Maize is standing in a clean stripe
• Making stripes directly into field grass for maize
• The machine worked very well and prepared a nearly perfect seedbed
• The grass was killed chemically some hours before working with the prototype
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Planting maize in the stripes on the 3rd of may
John Deere AutoTrac with SF 2 standard
The trailed optima followed very good the stripes, cause of the loosened soil
High moisture level around the seed
• Three weeks later maize is in rows
• Field grass is dead, but still there as a protection
• Same plant-development by strip-till and conservational tillage, but one
pass strip-till vs. 4 passes in conservational
Strip-Till
Conservational
Tillage
• Maize-plants end of July, after 3 weeks without any rain
• Stripes made with the Kultistrip in the area of
Soest
• Direct working in the rye-stubble
• The field was harvested for silage one day before
• 4 years old field grass
• Soil with high percentage of clay
• Two passes with the Kultistrip were needed
to prepare the stripes
• Strip-till for oilseed-rape with 45 cm row-spacing
• Direct working in wheat stubble, the straw was baled
• Rape-plants between the stubbles, six weeks after seeding
8. Field tests 2014
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Preparing stripes for sugar beet in loamy-sandy conditions
Intermediate crop with different plants like flax or mustard
Working depth of 25 cm and a speed of 9-10 km/h
Fertilizer placement (DAP) at a depth of 12 cm
40 ha in total at this place
• Residues in the inter-row area are
completely conserved
• Good protection against winderosion in this area
• Very uniform plant development
• No problem with compacted zones
on the headlands
• Plants have overcome very good a
dry period of 2 weeks
• Very good beet-body 2,5 months after
preparing the stripes
• Long main-root because of not
compacted seedbed
• Fertilizer depot leads the roots faster
into the deep
• More moisture in the underground
helps the plant to use the nutrients
• Big Trial for sugar-beet in Strip-Till together with the agricultural
chamber Soest
• Comparison of different working depth (10, 18 and 25 cm) for preparing
stripes in spring and also comparison to conservational tillage
• Plots with fertilizer (DAP 10 cm depth) and without
• Second year of testing, yellow mustard as intermediate crop
• Wet conditions by cultivation
shallow working-depth was better
• Seeding of the sugar beets at the 4th of April
• Guidance with RTK accuracy
• Mulch-seeding equipment at the Unicorn
row produced some more fine-earth around
the seed
• Very good emerge of the sugar beets in all plots
• Plants in the deep cultivated plots are a little bit slower than the others
Deep cultivation (25 cm)
• 2. control at the 12.06.2014 with no different
between the plots at the leaves
• BUT if you look at the beet itself there is a
difference between shallow and deep cultivation
Shallow cultivation (10 cm)
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Strip-Till for maize close to Soest
No intermediate crop, just shallow cultivation after barley harvest
Weeds and re-emerged barley was killed chemically
Good conditions for Kultistrip and as well Optima
very uniform plants in all areas
of the field even in the
headlands
residues in the inter-row is
dead and covers the soil
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Maize after maize on a very heavy soil in the area of Beckum (Germany)
Second year of Strip-Till (see trials from 2013)
We tested the cage- and Farmflex-roller, better drying with the cage-roller
Seed-bed was better than 2013 but still very rough
We moved the strip 30 cm over so that the old stubbles are in the middle of
the new stripes
• Very uniform plants here only in the compacted headlands some problems,
due to the wet harvest in autumn
• The farmer will bring out slurry in the standing plants
• Big test for maize in Strip-Till on the island Fehmarn (Germany)
• Very heavy soil, but with high yields (12 t of wheat in average)
• Crop before was wheat and then there had been different cultivations:
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4x straw harrow
3x straw harrow + 1x short disc harrow
3x straw harrow + 1x cultivator
2x straw harrow + 1x short disc harrow + 1x cultivator
1x straw harrow + 2x short disc harrow + 1x cultivator
1x straw harrow + 2x cultivator
• Comparison between Strip-Till with different cultivation before and two
different kinds of conservational tillage
• Every plot is divided in two parts where we are testing if phosphorus can be
changed with potassium in the fertilizer depot
• Special aim of the pre-cultivation is to fight against black-grass
• All the plots had been rolled after seeding
• Very good emerging of the maize, no visible difference between the plots
• Faster growing of the maize in the plots with intensive pre-cultivation, due
to soil-temperature (only one day between Kultistrip and Optima)
• Better start for the plant, which had a phosphorus fertilizer depot
Kultistrip – Main arguments
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Center of gravity very close to the tractor, to reduce lifting forces
Strong central square tube frame with 180 x 180 dimension for high pulling forces
Possible row width 45 to 80 cm to suit all row-crops
Every row can follow individually the ground by parallelogram and gauge wheels
Big front-cutting-disc (520 mm) with depth adjustment to cut residues and to open the soil
Trash-wheels are independent from each other and can be pressed to the ground for excellent cleaning of the
stripe
Hydraulic-auto-reset system saves the tine for stones or other obstacles
Three different tine variants and three different rollers for different soil types
Injection of mineral fertilizer or slurry by creating the stripes
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All adjustments without tools
Special designed tine shape
Independent depth adjustment of tine and fertilizer injection
Strong design for challenging conditions
Kverneland Kultistrip
The new option for Strip-Till!
visit us at www.kvernelandgroup.com
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