Cultivator
Agricultural implement for soil tillage and weed control.
A cultivator is a piece of agricultural equipment used for secondary tillage. It stirs and pulverizes the soil, either before planting to prepare a seedbed or after crops have begun growing to kill weeds. Unlike a harrow, which disturbs the entire surface, cultivators disturb the soil in careful patterns to spare crop plants while disrupting weeds.
- type
- Agricultural equipment
- primary use
- Secondary tillage and weed control
- common power sources
- Draft animals, two-wheel tractors, four-wheel tractors, internal combustion engines
- modern context
- Use reduced by herbicides, but still essential in organic farming
Lore & Background
The basic idea of soil scratching for weed control is ancient, done with hoes or ploughs for millennia. Ganging several hoes together and applying draft animal power led to harrows. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a proliferation of cultivator designs emerged, drawn by horses, mules, oxen, or people. Using a steam tractor engine, he found that ground could be mechanically tilled without soil-packing. He improved his design with an L-shaped blade mounted on a small-diameter rotor. Ltd. The Howard Group was acquired by the Danish Thrige Agro Group in 1985, and in December 2000 became part of Kongskilde Industries.
Reader's Guide
Cultivators have been central to agriculture for centuries, evolving from simple gangs of hoes to sophisticated motorized machines. Their significance lies in enabling efficient weed control and seedbed preparation without the soil compaction caused by plowing. However, the advent of herbicides in the 1950s and 1960s greatly reduced mechanical cultivation, as chemical weed control was seen as modern and efficient. Over time, the limitations and externalities of herbicides became apparent, leading to a renewed appreciation for mechanical cultivation, especially in organic farming. Today, cultivators remain indispensable for affordable food production, used in both small-scale gardening and large commercial agriculture, with sizes ranging from hand-pushed tools to 80-foot-wide industrial implements powered by tractors.
Did You Know?
- Cultivators are designed to disturb soil in careful patterns, sparing crop plants while disrupting weeds, unlike harrows which disturb the entire surface.
- The Howard Group of companies was acquired by the Danish Thrige Agro Group in 1985 and became part of Kongskilde Industries in December 2000.
- Herbicidal weed control was first widely commercialized in the 1950s and 1960s, leading to a reduction in mechanical cultivation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a cultivator in agriculture?
A cultivator is a tillage implement designed for secondary soil preparation, meaning it works the ground after the initial plowing stage. It stirs and breaks up the soil in targeted patterns, either to create a fine seedbed before planting or to disrupt weeds around established crops.
How does a cultivator differ from a harrow?
While both are secondary tillage tools, a harrow disturbs the entire soil surface uniformly. A cultivator, by contrast, works the soil in deliberate, spaced patterns so it can uproot weeds between rows without damaging the crop plants themselves.
What power sources can drive a cultivator?
Cultivators have historically been pulled by draft animals such as horses or oxen, and later by two-wheel and four-wheel tractors. In modern settings, they can also be powered directly by internal combustion engines, giving smallholder farmers a self-contained option.
Are cultivators still widely used given the rise of herbicides?
Chemical weed control has reduced the overall frequency of mechanical cultivation in conventional farming. However, cultivators remain indispensable in organic and regenerative systems where synthetic herbicides are off-limits, making them a core tool for those growers.
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