What does a straw harrow do?

In farming, a harrow is used to till the surface of the soil. Typically, this tool is used after ploughing for breaking up and smoothing out the surface of the soil. If you’ve ended up on our blog, you’re probably wondering what the purpose of a straw harrow is. In this blog, we will discuss everything there is regarding straw harrows, so stay tuned for some useful information. 

If you’re looking for a quick explanation, a straw harrow works to break up any clods and provide a soil structure, called a tilth, which is perfect for planting seeds. In addition, straw harrows can be used to remove weeds and cover seeds after sowing.

Are you looking to buy a straw harrow for your farm? Take a look at Claydon Drills Straw Harrow today.

How do straw harrows differ from other agricultural machinery?

• The difference between a plough and a straw harrow is that a plough cuts the upper 12-25 cm layer of soil, leaving trenches and furrows.
• The difference between straw harrows and cultivators is that a harrow disturbs the entire soil surface, while cultivators only disturb narrow tracks to destroy the weeds, without disturbing the crop.

What are the different types of straw harrows? 

There are five different types of harrow, which include: 

Disc harrows

This type of harrow is often used in colder climates and is typically used for heavy work, such as breaking up sod after ploughing. 

Tine harrows 

Tine harrows are used to refine the seed bed condition before planting, which will remove any seeds in growing crops and loosen the inter row soils to allow for water to soak in the subsoil. 

Chain harrows 

These types of harrows are used for light work, such as levelling tilth and covering seeds. Chain harrows can also be used on pasture land to spread out dung and break up dead material in the sward. 

Chain-disk harrows 

In this type of harrowing, disks attached to chains are pulled at an angle over the ground, which harrow rapidly across the soil surface. The chain and disk rotate to break the top surface to roughly 1 inch. 

Power harrow

A power harrow has multiple sets of tines, which are vertically placed with each other. The sets of tines are rotated vertically and the tills soil horizontally. As a result, the soil layers don’t get turned over, which helps to prevent dormant weed seeds from being brought to the surface. 

Are you looking to buy a straw harrow for your farm? Take a look at Claydon Drills Straw Harrow today.

How has the harrow evolved over time? 

When harrows first evolved, they were drawn by animals, such as horses, mules or oxen, and even manual labourers. Farming technologies have improved drastically over the years and now, they are almost always tractor-mounted. This involves being trailed by a tractor and a drawbar or mounted on a three-point hitch. One of the most modern technologies is the rotary power harrow, otherwise known as a power harrow.

How does a harrow work? 

In current times, it isn’t unusual for a farmer to use two harrows, in synchrony with another, one after the other. This is done to result in a smooth field with powdery dirt on the surface of the soil. A disc harrow is firstly used, in order to slice large clods left by the mould-board plough, which is then followed by a spring tooth harrow. Both harrows are often pulled by one tractor, all connected together.

Thank you for reading our blog ‘What does a straw harrow do?’. Are you looking to buy a straw harrow for your farm? Take a look at Claydon Drills Straw Harrow today.