Published on Wednesday, March 4, 2020
According to their website, Prescription Tillage Technology’s STP blade utilizes Bellota metal technology. Their proprietary tooth design flows dirt against the inside of the bevel and into the tooth fillet. Assuring blade bevel maintenance vs. blade stubbing or blade dulling seen with common OEM Blades. One blade is also 0.25 in. bigger in diameter than the other blade. This allows them to spin at different speeds and create a different seed trench than the standard blades.
It utilizes a forged alloy heat treated hub and a much heavier and thicker (25.2 mm vs 15.3 mm) bearing. This bearing is fully replaceable, unlike most standard disc openers. When the disc wears out, then only the disc has to be replaced. Same goes for the bearing when it wears out. The blade itself is also 4mm thick compared to the 3mm thickness of the standard disc opener. This works well with their heavier bearing.
Prescription Tillage Technology produces their openers for all the major corn planter manufacturers.
Yes, they can. So far, we have only tested them in no-till plots. I still think the benefits will carry over into a conventional environment as well. We hope to continue testing in no-till and conventional-till fields in the future.
In our no-till studies across six replications, the STP openers provided a 2.1 Bu./A. increase in corn and a 2.5 Bu./A. increase in soybeans when compared to the standard disc openers.
I was very impressed with the performance of the STP opener. It appeared to remove the smearing and compaction of the sidewall and opened the seed trench at the bottom, allowing the seed to make it to the floor of the trench. This alleviates any air pockets underneath the seed, allow for better and more consistent emergence. Another improvement we observed is that, as the disc rotates, it partially closes the seed trench before the closing wheels. I have never seen this with standard openers in a no-till situation.
When using a standard disc opener in less than ideal conditions, sidewall compaction and smearing can occur. The STP openers work well to prevent both of those situations from happening. A poorly adjusted opener will also cause a ‘W’ pattern to form at the bottom of the trench, which will cause air pockets.
Yes, it provided more even and consistent emergence and better root and vegetative growth. In six replications, the STP openers provided 1,000 plant/A. increase in corn overall.
No, one blade is .25 in. bigger in diameter than the other blade. This allows them to spin at different speeds and makes it easier for installation.
Yes. For Kinze, John Deere, Harvest International, Horsch, and White-Precision planters, they require 0.75 in. to 2 in. of blade to blade contact.
Yes, Prescription Tillage Technology offers several styles of disc openers. They have a range of aggressive to standard style openers that offer their heavier bearing.
They can be purchased directly through one of their dealers or on their website at prescriptiontillagetechnology.com. Some Case IH stores also their openers and Schaffert Manufacturing is one of their dealers.
Author: Clayton Stufflebeam
Categories: PFR, PFR Reports
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