A 4-row no-till planter used by the Plots Plus Team

While operating Plots Plus L.L.C., a wildlife management company, I have found that a no-till planter can save a lot of time, money, and energy for large size planting applications. This piece of equipment would better suit large hunting clubs, large landowners that plant a lot of food plots, or for the average hunter that is trying to save time with his annual food plot plantings. A no-till planter is better suited and in most instances will be primarily used for springtime annual plantings such as corn, sunflowers, milo, and chufa. A common four-row no-till planter set on 24-inch rows can average planting 20-25 acres per day on suitable ground conditions with no problem.

A young sunflower field planted by a no-till planter

Another way that the planter can manipulate the seed drop amount is by changing the gears at the drive wheel. Most planters are ground driven, which means they have a large wheel that turns as you drive and the contact to the ground of this wheel will turn itself along with a drive gear, chain, and driven gear that is connected to the planter base. This base is where the planter plate rides and as it spins, the seed drops into the seed shute and lays into the seed furrow that the opening coulters have cut into the ground. Most of the time one of these gears will be larger than the other. For example, if you had the larger gear at the drive wheel and the smaller gear at the driven planter base, then your seed plate would spin faster and drop the seed closer together than if you had the larger gear at the driven planter base and the smaller gear at the drive wheel. This is how you change the distance between the seed as it is put into the ground. A good example of this is when planting corn'd1you would want your seed dropping about three seeds per foot or one seed every four inches. You can also change this slightly by the ground speed of your tractor. I try to set up my planters to drop the correct rate as I run about six mph ground speed. This is a good starting point with an initial setup. Sometimes you can use the same plate and swap the gears around and plant different seeds. One instance I have found this works is using the corn plate with the larger gear at the rear of the planter and then swapping the gears and use the same plate to plant sunflowers. The seeds are close in size but I need to spread out the distance between the sunflower seeds being dropped into the seed furrows. As with most equipment these days, you can outfit implements with accessories that can make your life easier. A no-till planter is no different with endless combinations to improve the workability of this implement. Two options that I have found to be beneficial to me are a seed drop monitor and a spray tank with fixed nozzles on each row. The monitor system will detect any seed clogging in the drop tubes of the planter and give you a warning light or beep to let you know that the seed is bridged or clogged in a particular row tube. This is priceless in the planting world. How many times have you been planting and wondered if your seed is actually making it into the ground? This is the remedy for that worry. The spray tank system will allow you to spray as you plant. This will be beneficial when you are planting Round-up Ready'a8 products such as corn. This system will allow you to spray glyphosate right after the seed is put into the ground. This will allow you to make one pass and you’re done with planting and spraying.

The maintenance or upkeep of a no-till planter is fairly easy. The main task will be to grease the fittings where the small gears are at the planter housing. This is a quick and easy job that will need to be done every 10-12 hours of use. The other main task includes dropping a few granules of dry graphite in the seed hopper to dry lube the moving parts around the planter plate. This should be done a couple of times a year to ensure low friction on these spinning parts.

The main difference of a no-till planter and a no-till drill is that the planter can drop the seed, specifically, a certain distance apart. A no-till drill drops the seeds at a constant speed set by the opening at the hopper using gravity. The other main difference is the row spacing. No-till planters are usually setup on rows between 24-36 inches. No-till drill row widths are usually between seven to nine inches. A good way to determine which would better fit your needs is to know which seed blend you are planting the most. On my planter setups, I have them set on 24-inch rows and my drills are set on seven and a half inch rows. A no-till planter is better suited for corn, sunflowers, milo, and chufa. A no-till drill is better suited for soybeans, clover, and most of the Biologic blends. Remember, the same seedbed and chemical preparations that we discussed in our first article “Say Yes to a No-Till Drill” will apply when using a no-till planter. I hope this article has enlightened you and described the many useful insights that a no-till planter can do for you.

Plots Plus, L.L.C. is based out of Jackson, TN and can help you anywhere in the country with planting your spring and fall food plots, plus all other of your wildlife management needs. They also provide many other services from building box stands and trough feeders to fertilizing trees, placing posted signs, pond fertilization, fencing and setting gates, camera set-up, bushhogging, nuisance trapping, writing management plans, and wildlife management consulting. If you have a need on your hunting property (whether owned or leased) let them help you. Plots Plus L.L.C. has franchises in Arkansas, Mississippi, the Midwest, Louisiana, Georgia, and the Carolinas to help with your wildlife management needs. They are also looking for new franchises to start across the country, so if you are interested in working in the wildlife management business, give them a call. You can reach Plots Plus and Kenny Thompson at 731-616-7848 or 731-427-6300 or visit their redesigned and updated website at www.plotsplus.net. Pict captions- Pict 1- A young sunflower field planted by a no-till planter Pict 2- A 4-row no-till planter used by the Plots Plus Team}