Strip-till

[1] This type of tillage is performed with special equipment[2] and can require the farmer to make multiple trips,[1] depending on the strip-till implement used, and field conditions.

[1] No-till planters have a disk opener and/or coulter that is located in front of the planting unit.

A two-year study found that strip-till did not affect the amount of soil organic carbon or its extractable phosphorus.

This can save the farmer a considerable amount of time and fuel, while reducing soil compaction due to few passes in a field.

In place of cultivation, a farmer can suppress weeds by managing a cover crop, mowing, crimping, or herbicide application.

Additionally, finding an appropriate cover crop mix for adequate weed suppression may be difficult.

However, this may represent an increase in total farm expenses due to herbicides being used in place of cultivation for weed suppression.

Though strip tillage can be successful without a global position system (GPS) based guidance, it can be beneficial.

A strip-till demonstration
A field planted using strip-till. Notice the crop residue of prior crop between the growing crop rows.
The SoilWarrior machine is used for strip-tillage. Instead of using a shank/knife, the machine uses a cog to till the soil into strips. [ 4 ]