Choose the correct machine

Seeders handle wheat, barley, oat, canola, long grain rice, spinach, peas, oilseed radish and grass. Planters handle corn, sorghum, sunflowers, soybeans, sugar beet, cotton and green beans. Potatoes, sugar cane, rice, poplar and the root vegetables use specialist systems, while grapes and olives are placed as rows in build mode.

Prepare only as much soil as necessary

Read the field state first. If ploughing is required, plough before planting. Otherwise cultivate or use a compatible direct-drill/direct-planter that can create the seedbed in the same pass. Using a direct drill saves a pass but can leave different weed/stone consequences than deeper soil work.

Fill and configure the machine

Fill the seeder or planter with the correct seed material, select the intended crop and confirm the tool is compatible with it. For specialist crops, use the crop-specific planter and required consumable such as potato seed, sugar cane or rice saplings.

Procedure

1. Inspect the field and seasonal calendar.
2. Choose a seeder/planter that supports the selected crop.
3. Prepare the field or use a direct-drill machine that can work the existing seedbed.
4. Fill the machine with seed/planting material.
5. Select the crop before entering the field.
6. Start at a straight field edge; lower and activate the machine.
7. Work parallel passes with a small overlap so no strips are missed.
8. Lift/stop the tool on headlands, turn, line up, then continue.
9. After sowing, roll immediately if you want the small rolling bonus and the crop/workflow supports it.

Equipment & tools

Open an equipment page for what the machine does, how to set it up and how to operate it.

Alternative options

Practical tips

• Match tractor power to the implement requirement.
• Avoid planting specialist crops until you know how you will harvest them.

Research notes