FurrowForce vs Dual Rubber Closing Wheels: No-Till Soybean Study

Todd Westerfeld's Planter with FurrowForce and Keeton

Key Points

Objective: To evaluate the difference between FurrowForce^® and Dual Rubber Closing Wheels in closing performance in a no-till environment for soybeans.
Outcome: In the toughest environments to close, FurrowForce provides a clear advantage and allows for the maximum yield potential.
Largest Loss Potential: Across our 2022 no-till closing system studies at the PTI Farm for soybeans, dual traditional rubbers provided the largest loss potential with a yield deficit of -4.6 Bu/A, and revenue losses of -$64.22/A.

Closing systems are designed to close the seed trench, eliminate sidewall compaction and smearing, and remove air pockets all while achieving good seed-to-soil contact. The traditional “standard” is a dual rubber closing system, so we took to the PTI Farm to discover how the traditional closing system used by the majority of growers across the country would hold up against FurrowForce^®, our preferred two-stage closing and sensing control system.

FurrowForce works fundamentally differently than other closing systems. In the first stage, notched wheels work to close the seed furrow from the bottom up, eliminating air pockets. In the second stage, stitch wheels carry weight on them to firm the soil over the seed to retain moisture and promote even emergence.

FurrowForce vs Dual Rubber Closing System Comparison

We tested both closing systems in a no-till environment where we planted directly into the previous year’s corn stalks with no tillage activity performed. And the results speak for themselves!

In a no-till environment, FurrowForce outperformed not only the dual traditional rubber closing system as well as all other systems with yield gains of 1.0 – 4.6 Bu/A. No-till environments are by far the toughest to close; however, we found that in this environment the dual traditional rubber closers had the lowest performance.

Our results also showed potential yield gains of up to nearly 5.0 Bu/A with increased revenue of nearly $40/A. It’s clear that in tougher closing situations, a more robust system, like FurrowForce, is needed to effectively close.