Drilling cereals into cover crops
As cover crops become an increasingly common feature of UK arable rotations, Weaving Machinery is encouraging growers to match their drilling system to residue levels and soil conditions to improve autumn establishment.
The company says the widespread adoption of cover crops under the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and greater emphasis on soil health has created new challenges when establishing autumn cereals. Heavy surface residues, reduced cultivation and increased slug pressure can all affect crop emergence if drilling systems are not matched to field conditions.
Simon Weaving, Sales Director at Weaving Machinery, says both tine and disc drills have an important role, depending on residue levels.
“The Sabre Tine drill performs well in cover crops up to around a foot tall, and even taller where the crop is well rooted. However, dense residues can wrap around tine coulters, and that’s where a disc drill offers an advantage.”
Where growers operate only a tine drill, Simon suggests that a shallow disc cultivation can help chop and spread residues before drilling without disturbing the soil profile excessively. Alternatively, a front-mounted cutting disc toolbar can improve residue management while retaining standing cover crops.
Slug pressure is another consideration. Surface residues and moist autumn conditions create favourable conditions for slugs, making good seed slot closure critical.
“The GD Disc Drill uses an angled cutting disc followed by a press wheel to achieve consistent slot closure. With the Sabre Tine, rolling after drilling becomes particularly important.”
The advice is based on practical experience at the Weaving family’s Chadbury Farm, where compacted former vegetable land is being regenerated using multi-species cover crops and reduced tillage.
This autumn, the farm will compare a GD Disc Drill and a Sabre Tine Drill side by side when establishing Crusoe winter wheat, helping assess how each performs under identical field conditions.
Simon concludes that successful establishment is less about choosing one drill over another and more about selecting the right system for the residue levels, soil condition and stage of transition within each field.
Related news: