Pseudo-ploughing

Pseudo-plowing is a soil working technique at a depth between 15 and 25 cm. The objective is to work the soil without turning it over and to distribute plant debris throughout the profile height. It ensures both restructuring of any compacted zones and good incorporation of organic matter. The technique is mainly used on clay soils where it crumbles the soil better than plowing. It is performed with a harrow, a plowshare or a scarifier.

What are its advantages?

Time and energy savings for the farmer because, at the same width, pseudo-plowing tools require less pulling power than loosening or plowing, with higher work rates.
Soil biological activity is greatly increased: the number of earthworm galleries is twice as high in pseudo-plowing as in plowing.
The dilution of organic matter or mineral elements is equivalent to plowing at the same working depth.

What are its disadvantages?

Several passes can result in less than 30% soil covered by residues, which no longer meets conservation agriculture criteria.
For no-till with superficial pseudo-plowing, 5 prerequisite conditions must be met:

Soil not compacted (beware in silty soils).
Satisfactory natural drainage, no risk of stagnant water.
No ruts.
Weeds and regrowth from the previous crop controlled.
Straw harvested or, if left on the field, it must be well chopped and evenly spread.

If any of these conditions are not met, it is better to use medium to deep pseudo-plowing.

Different types of pseudo-plowing

Superficial: 5-8 cm deep with disc or tine tools.
Medium: 10-15 cm with a cultivator.
Deep: 25-30 cm with a chisel or a subsoiler.

Equipment used

The rotary hoe: Depending on the number of passes, the soil is crumbled, refined and relatively leveled over a thickness of up to 15 cm.
The vibrating rotary harrow: It allows leveling and crumbling the soil to a depth of up to 10 cm and thus preparing the soil for sowing. Today there are vibrating rotary harrows that perform work quite similar to rotary hoes in one or two passes. The difference is mainly useful depending on soil types: clay, clay-limestone, humiferous.

For more information on the subject: http://www4.ac-nancy-metz.fr/autocompetences/2_ressources_pedagogiques/12_parcs-et-jardins/stockage_debatty-jc/f-materiels-creation-ev/8_materiels_pseudo-labours/materiels_pseudo-labours.pdf

Annexes

Sources