Ploughing in Agriculture: Meaning, Types, and Tips

Table of Contents

• What is ploughing? Meaning, Importance, and History
• Types of Ploughs
  • MB Plough
  • Reversible MB Plough
  • Disc Plough
  • Chisel Plough
  • Subsoiler
• Methods of Ploughing
  • Gathering
  • Casting
  • Continuous Ploughing Method
  • Round and Round Ploughing Method
• Tips for Choosing the Right Plough
• Popular Plough Brands in India

What is ploughing? Meaning, Importance, and History

Ploughing is a fundamental farming practice. It is an ancient agricultural practice that breaks and turns the first layer of soil for preparing the land before cultivation. Its purpose is to loosen up the soil to absorb air, bring fresh nutrients to the surface, dump the remains of previous crops, and control weeds.

Ploughing leads to more uniform germination of seeds. It helps in rejuvenating the overused or depleted soil by adding the organic matter. A properly ploughed land is less susceptible to water logging and drainage issues. It also improves the overall soil structure and soil health.

Ploughing is responsible for revolutionizing the human civilization. Before this practice, humans were living as nomads. They were primarily dependent on hunting and gathering for food. The emergence of agriculture became the beginning of human settlement. However, earlier in the ancient era, men used sticks to pierce the soil for preparing the seedbed. The sticks kept on modifying and led to the creation of hoes but they were not very efficient in preparing the soil. Eventually, Sumerians in Mesopotamia, in the 4th millennium BC invented plough.

This invention revolutionized the entire process of agriculture. The availability of iron played a major role in the evolution of plough. Gradually, ploughs started coming with iron ploughshares and wooden carts which increased their effectiveness. They were used for centuries for ploughing. Later, at the end of the 18th century, the first all metal plough was manufactured on an industrial scale. Since then, on the basis of requirements, plough has been evolving. Let’s discuss some of the major types of plough in detail.

Types of Ploughs

Agriculture in India is a mix of traditional and modern farming techniques. Traditionally, wooden ploughs have been used in India from ages for ploughing the land. The wooden plough or indigenous plough is an implement which is made of wood and iron. It is drawn with the help of bullocks for ploughing the field. Wooden ploughs are still used for ploughing in India, specifically in underdeveloped areas. However, due to its inefficiency in ploughing, many modern ploughs have emerged in the agricultural sphere. Let’s look into some of them one by one:

MB Plough

The mouldboard plough is primarily used in areas where weeds grow excessively. Its curved blades bury the remains of crops and weeds in the soil. It ploughs the land to a depth of 25 to 30 cm. It leaves no unploughed land because its furrow slices are cut clean and inverted to one side for better grinding of soil.

Reversible MB Plough

The reversible MB plough is another agricultural implement which is directly mounted to the tractor. It is hydraulically operated for ploughing the land. It works well in hard, dry, trashy, or stumpy land. They are designed to work on both sides and for automatically reversing the position during ploughing. This eases the ploughing process.

Disc Plough

The disc plough is designed with a set of circular blades which cut through the soil. The common size of the disc is 60 cm in diameter. It can easily break the clumps and therefore is suitable for stony soils. Unlike MB plough, no harrowing is necessary to break the clumps of the upturned soils.

Chisel Plough

Chisel plough is designed especially for deep tillage that causes less disturbance to the top layers. It ploughs the land to a depth of 60 to 70 cm. It has a thin body with a cutting sharp blade or edge. It does not turn the soil as much as other ploughs which makes it a suitable option for low till farming. This also helps in less soil erosion. The chisel plough is suitable for ploughing the hardpan soil.

Subsoiler

Subsoiler plough’s shape is similar to chisel plough but it has stronger heavy-duty legs for deep ploughing. It breaks the hard layers of soil or subsoil without bringing them up to the surface. It ploughs the land up to depths of two feet.

Methods of Ploughing

Ploughing is done mainly to obtain a deep seedbed which has good water retention and appropriate air. This can be achieved with three main methods of ploughing discussed below:

Gathering

Gathering is a process in which the plough works round a strip of ploughed land.

Casting

Casting is a process in which the plough works round a strip of unploughed land.

Continuous Ploughing Method

This ploughing method is considered to be one of the economical and convenient methods. It is a traditional large-scale farming method which helps in quick seedbed preparation along with weed control. In this method, the tractor and the plough never stay idle beyond three quarter land width along the headland. They also never move in a space narrower than a quarter land width. The ploughing is done continuously without leaving large sections of furrows unploughed. This method is efficient in enhancing the uniformity while ploughing.

Round and Round Ploughing Method

In this method, as the name suggests, the plough moves circularly in the field. The ploughing is started from one side of the field and gradually it reaches the center. This method however is not a very economical and accurate method as large diagonals remain unploughed.

Tips for Choosing the Right Plough

• Understanding the soil:  The very first step before buying a plough is understanding the soil type of your land. Different soils and crops need different types of ploughs for tilling. For example, in case of loamy soil, MB plough is a good option while in case of stoney soil, disc plough appears as a better choice. Different crops require different ploughing depth. For example, MB plough or chisel plough are suitable for maize and wheat. Whereas, sugarcane might require a subsoiler.
• Understand your tractor: The higher the HP of your tractor the better the ploughing performance. Choose your plough suitable with your engine capacity, HP, and hydraulics. This is because all of these factors are responsible for operating the plough smoothly. The 4WD tractors are better in providing stability and traction when it comes to handling implements like plough. All these factors decide the compatibility of the plough with a tractor.
• Brand reputation: It is important to choose your plough from a reputable brand that has a good dealer network. It should offer reliable service or spare parts for maintenance and warranty. A good customer support is a benefit as it can help you in any issues you will face with the plough.
• Budget and Cost: Look if there are any subsidies offered by the government on the plough that you want to purchase. If not, then you can always opt for a loan at best interest rates from tractorkarvan.
• Demo: Make sure you take a demo of the plough on your field before purchasing. It will give you a clear picture regarding its usage specifically for your farm.
• Expert Advice: If you are unable to judge which plough type would be the right option for your farm you can reach out to experts for guidance. You can also visit Tractorkarvan for the expert advice.

Popular Plough Brands in India

Here are some of the popular plough brands in India with the implement type, model, and price.