Vertical tillage and vertical seeding for conservation agriculture

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Conservation agriculture is the key to sustainable food production. In conservation agriculture, 30 to 100% of crop residue is left in the fields for soil erosion protection, soil fertility, and environmental protection (minimising nutrient volatilisation, runoff, and leaching). However, excessive residue in the field causes plugging of traditional tillage and seeding equipment, which adversely affects crop emergence and yield. To solve this problem, the vertical tillage (VT) concept was recently proposed by farmers in North America, and equipment for this is now being developed by agricultural equipment manufactures. As an additional solution, the applicant has recently proposed the concept of vertical seeding (VS). Both VT and VS are unique and universal approaches that aim to deal with heavy crop residue, while increasing field efficiency and lowering energy consumption. To date, little research has been done on VT and VS. The proposed strategic plan is to team up with two large Canadian manufacturers (Buhler Versatile Inc. and Atom-Jet Group) to develop VT and VS machines. The goal is to operate these machines in fields WITH RESIDUE COVER UP TO 100%, and increase field efficiency by A FACTOR OF 2. To meet the rapidly changing global market, VT and VS machines will be developed using a "rapid prototyping" approach through virtual testing using discrete element modeling (DEM). Traditionally, the prototyping process of agricultural machinery involves multiple cycles of design-fabrication-testing. The major advantage of the rapid prototyping approach is that design and testing are done virtually, and no prototypes or real testing are needed. This will SHORTEN THE PROTOTYPING TIME BY 60%. Seven (7) graduate students will be trained by 11 team members, including faculty members and industrial researchers, engineers, and technical staff. The outcomes from this project include leading edge technologies, new VT and VS machines, and possibly new production lines at the manufacturers (meaning new jobs), and highly qualified job-ready graduates. All these will greatly benefit Canadian sustainable agriculture, food security, the environment, and the economy.