Between-Row Mower Cuts Row Crop Weeds

2019 - Volume #43, Issue #5, Page #02

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Crimped cover crops hold down weeds for a time, but when weeds finally break through, organic grower Pieter Los has the answer. His 3-pt. mounted, between-row mower clips them off before they can go to seed.
“Mats of crimped cover crops work fine for a few months, but as an organic grower, I have few alternatives when weeds break through,” says Los. “I can’t use a flamer because of the heavy residue, and I don’t want to cultivate.”
Los discovered that University of Missouri organic row crops agronomist Kerry Clark had similar needs. Along with Clark, Los applied for and received a grant from SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education) to design and build a between-row mower.
“We came up with a design for 22-in. wide, hydraulically-driven mowers to use between 30-in. rows,” explains Los. “I built a 3-mower unit for use on my farm and a 7-mower unit for the University.”
Los started with cultivator toolbars. He stripped away the shanks, but kept the guide wheels and the parallel linkage mounts. Replacing 16-in. shanks with a 4-in. tall mower deck required adding 2-ft. extensions. Los used 3/8-in. thick, 3 by 3-in. angle iron mounted to the toolbars with U-bolts.
He worked with Certified Power, Inc., a hydraulic engineering firm, on the design and choice of hydraulic components. He fabricated and assembled most parts himself. What he couldn’t do, he took to a local machine shop.
The first step was to size the hydraulic pump by volume and pressure. Los used a pto-driven 12 gpm pump on the 3-mower unit and a 22 gpm pump on the 7-mower unit, both with 3,000 psi at 540 rpm’s. He opted for a Cyclone Reservoir with an in-line radiator for cooling. The cyclone removes air bubbles and reduces total fluid needed compared to a standard reservoir.
The hydraulic motors are hooked up in series. In the case of the 7-mower unit, that meant a flow divider sending fluid to 3 motors to one side and 4 to the other.
Both mowers used the same blades and decks. Size of both was determined by the need to get as close as possible to crop stems in the row while leaving room for variations in spacing.
“The 22-in. deck leaves about 3 in. on either side of the row,” says Los.
Where possible, Los used off-the-shelf, commercially available components. “Pick the heaviest mower blades available,” he advises.
A list of components and sources are available from SARE. Los estimates costs for the 3-mower unit of about $4,200 and about $5,800 for the 7-mower unit.
“Both units work,” he says. “I think the design has potential for use in no-till, as well as with cover crops and for control of herbicide resistant weeds.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Pieter Los, 1002 Hwy. 19, Hermann, Mo. 65041 (ph 573 252 4935; plos@ktis.net; https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/fnc18-1134/).

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Between-Row Mower Cuts Row Crop Weeds HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Mowers 38 Crimped cover crops hold down weeds for a time but when weeds finally break through organic grower Pieter Los has the answer His 3-pt mounted between-row mower clips them off before they can go to seed “Mats of crimped cover crops work fine for a few months but as an organic grower I have few alternatives when weeds break through ” says Los “I can’t use a flamer because of the heavy residue and I don’t want to cultivate ” Los discovered that University of Missouri organic row crops agronomist Kerry Clark had similar needs Along with Clark Los applied for and received a grant from SARE Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education to design and build a between-row mower “We came up with a design for 22-in wide hydraulically-driven mowers to use between 30-in rows ” explains Los “I built a 3-mower unit for use on my farm and a 7-mower unit for the University ” Los started with cultivator toolbars He stripped away the shanks but kept the guide wheels and the parallel linkage mounts Replacing 16-in shanks with a 4-in tall mower deck required adding 2-ft extensions Los used 3/8-in thick 3 by 3-in angle iron mounted to the toolbars with U-bolts He worked with Certified Power Inc a hydraulic engineering firm on the design and choice of hydraulic components He fabricated and assembled most parts himself What he couldn’t do he took to a local machine shop The first step was to size the hydraulic pump by volume and pressure Los used a pto-driven 12 gpm pump on the 3-mower unit and a 22 gpm pump on the 7-mower unit both with 3 000 psi at 540 rpm’s He opted for a Cyclone Reservoir with an in-line radiator for cooling The cyclone removes air bubbles and reduces total fluid needed compared to a standard reservoir The hydraulic motors are hooked up in series In the case of the 7-mower unit that meant a flow divider sending fluid to 3 motors to one side and 4 to the other Both mowers used the same blades and decks Size of both was determined by the need to get as close as possible to crop stems in the row while leaving room for variations in spacing “The 22-in deck leaves about 3 in on either side of the row ” says Los Where possible Los used off-the-shelf commercially available components “Pick the heaviest mower blades available ” he advises A list of components and sources are available from SARE Los estimates costs for the 3-mower unit of about $4 200 and about $5 800 for the 7-mower unit “Both units work ” he says “I think the design has potential for use in no-till as well as with cover crops and for control of herbicide resistant weeds ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Pieter Los 1002 Hwy 19 Hermann Mo 65041 ph 573 252 4935; plos@ktis net; https://projects sare org/project-reports/fnc18-1134/

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