Martin Closing System Modifications

The final part of the planting process is the closing system. Many different options are available to improve planter closing performance across different soil types and moisture levels. In the past producers may have thought the only way grow no-till crops successfully was to wait until all of the soils within the field were dry enough for the factory smooth wheel closing systems to press the sidewalls together. This may prove to be a long wait during some spring seasons, and an expensive wait for the larger producers. Long standing struggles with closing the seed slot has prompted Martin Industries to offer a number of different closing options, which are available for different soils, moisture conditions and regions of the country.

The addition of reduced inner diameter (RID) gauge wheels further improve the performance of all closing systems, especially spiked closing systems. More information on RID wheels.

When switching to a no-till system, producers are frequently forced into planting regions of fields with soil moisture levels too high to allow complete closing of the seed slot. Planting wet soils usually results in an open seed slot with a lack of seed to soil contact. The cost to the farmer is high, because random skips in rows of soybeans (as illustrated in the photo to the left) reduce field yields. Poor closing of the seed slot can be very common when planting moist, high clay content soils. After a few drying days have taken place the seed slot may open back up, causing seeds to fall victim to insect or bird damage.

With all the additional traits contained within a bag of corn, the price per bag will continue to climb. Positioning those precious seeds in the soil at a consistent depth and closing the seed slot become the most important task of the season. Many producers struggle with this and open seed slots (illustrated right) result in poor corn stands.

Smooth and spiked wheel configuration

Standard smooth closing wheels close the seed trench by crushing the soil down from the top. In high moisture clay soils this usually results in poor emergence on account of the dense soil layer that the seeds need to penetrate to emerge from the soil. This condition is made worse when a number of drying days immediately follow planting, therefore, the addition of a single spiked wheel together with a smooth wheel will offer good seed trench closing and warming of the seed zone. The smooth and spiked wheel combination works well in high moisture conditions because the smooth wheel presses soil around the seed, while maintaining depth control for the spiked wheel on the opposite side which spades the sidewall, leaving a crumbled soil covering above the seed for fast soil warming action.

Paired spiked wheel configuration

Installing a pair of spiked closing wheels will significantly improving the closing of the seed slot in higher moisture soil conditions and when seeding into high clay content soils, plus improved seed slot closing will result in improved consistency of emergence. By installing a pair of reduced inner diameter gauge wheels, sidewall compaction can also be reduced or eliminated, this is a frequent cause of poor emergence in soils which are susceptible to compaction.

When utilizing spiked wheels, moist soil is moved toward the seed at seeding depth by the tapered fingers on each spiked wheel, this improvement in seed to soil contact will occur even in both wet or hard conditions. The operator has the ability to adjust the down pressure of the wheels, in fact under most soil conditions the wheels may be set with minimal, to no down pressure. This reduction in down pressure requirement will add down-pressure to the double disc openers (if required) to help with penetrating hard dry clay soils. Spiked wheels cause segmenting of the sidewalls into small blocks, which help keep the slot closed when soil drying occurs, a pair of spiked wheels will also facilitate faster soil warming and more rapid emergence.

Paired dimple wheel configuration

A pair of dimple wheels can be installed to a planter to close the seed slot on loam or lighter textured soils. Dimple wheels firm the soil with the rounded lobes and leave looser soil between them. Dimple wheels are less aggressive than spiked wheels, but they do offer a more gentle tillage effect above the seed zone.

Martin drag chains

Drag chains easily bolt to the closing wheel bracket at the rear of the planter and can be installed quickly to most planter brands without drilling additional holes. The function of the drag chain is to level the row by pulling loose soil along the top of the seed zone and filling in any voids left by the closing system. The drag chains even out the soil surface above the seed zone and allow more even drying.

Product Guide