Hydraulic Down force addresses common problems of uneven emergence, poor root development, row unit bounce and stress.

 

Uneven Emergence:

Uneven emergence typically is considerd as plants that emerge greater than 48 hours apart. Inconsistent planting depth leads to an sub-optimal growing environment. This can be caused by soil variability across the field or vehicle traffic. Corn does not have the ability to compensate for weak or missing plants leading to the grower needing to make sure that every plant counts. 

 

Poor Root Development:

Rootless corn problems can be attributed to conditions that coincide with development of the nodal root system and other factors. These include hot, dry surface soils, shallow planting depths, compact soils, and loose or cloddy soil conditions. Hatchet Roots can occur in a compacted seed trench preventing root development into surrounding soils. The result is a root ball that resembles the blade of a hatchet, (growing horizontally rather than down). When planting in wet conditions, we can be putting on to much down force (weight on row unit from seed/insecticide). When the soil dries, the trench can open up causing poor seed germination and/or seedling death.

 

Row Unit Bounce / Row Unit Stress:

When looking at a traditional planter system with springs the planter may look like its playing the piano bouncing up and down due to variability in the field. This bouncing can cause skips, poor spacing, and shallow seed planting depth. Why? Because springs or air bags lack sufficient shock absorbing ability, therefore providing poor row unit ground contact. When using hydraulics for a planter downforce system, stress occurs when fluid cannot compress to allow row unit movement over obstacles.