Seeder Row Planter, What the Pros Say. With Helpful Tips

Farmers and gardeners are often doubtful about the gardening tool for sowing seeds efficiently in the soil. It is pretty taxing to plant every seed manually as it requires extensive labor and a lower yield. Farmers and agricultural experts recommend using a seeder row planter for such purposes.

Seeder row planter:                                      

A seeder row planter is a garden tool that helps in the plantation of various vegetable and fruit seeds, such as corn, soybeans, and wheat, in organized rows neatly. This farm equipment can be easily attached to a tractor and open the soil up, plant the seed, and sows it in an efficient and orderly manner.

In this article, I will explain all about seeder row planters, including how much they cost, how they work, and how they are used. At the end of the blog post, I will look at a one-row planter, a farm planter, and a farm seeder.

What is a Seed Planter?

A seed planter greatly aids in efficiently sowing seeds with accuracy and uniformity.

One of the bigger challenges farmers have faced is sowing seeds with precise depth, distance, and conformity. The right conditions allow seeds to germinate with expansive soil and nutrients, improving production capacity and yield.

Seed planters enable farmers to work faster and prevent fatigue associated with seed plantation. Hence, it is a crucial farming tool that has become part and parcel of every farmer’s life.

Advantages of a Seed Planter in Agriculture

A seeder row planter has many advantages for farmers and is often recommended to be used by agricultural researchers to ensure maximum output and productivity out of the seeds.

It limits the wastage and spoilage of high-quality sources and ensures even plantation with sufficient distancing for pesticide and fertilizer application. This tool provides soil preparation and equal distribution of soil to all seeds.

This ultimately leads to excellent germination potential of plants and crop health.

• Neatness: Ensures neatness amid farm rows as it sows evenly, improving your garden’s space and making it look presentable.
• Efficiency: Compared to manually planting the seeds, a seeder planter helps save time and effort by quickly covering a large area of land as it can be attached to a tractor for quicker and easier sowing. It saves on the cost of manual labor and leads to lesser physical fatigue for the farmers, which helps them utilize their resources more efficiently.
• Ensures the correct sowing depth: Seeder planters have a depth adjustment mechanism that allows farmers to sow position seeds at the optimum depth, ensuring maximum seed germination. Most planted seeds, either too deep or too shallow, die out due to improper germination, leading to a loss of resources. Hence, a seed planter ensures the right depth for every plant seed.

Types of Seed Planters

Based on their uniqueness and utilization, five different types of seed planters are available in the market, such as:

1. Push Planter:

Push planter is often used for small agricultural lands such as home gardens and farms. It consists of a series of tubes for dispensing seeds that eventually drop into the soil. It is manual in function and is pushed along the soil for easy dispensing and sowing.

2. Hand-held Seed Planter:

A traditional ancestor to modern mechanized seed planters, the hand-held seed planter comprises a metal spike and a container to carry seeds. The spikes are pushed against the soil to form a pit or a hole for the seed.

This simple seed planter is not suitable to be used on farms as it requires extensive labor. But it is an excellent choice for smaller areas and potted plants.

3. No-till Seed Planter:

Tilling is a vital step to follow for soil preparation for the area. However, the no-till seed planter directly plants a seed without tilling. The logic behind this mechanism is that many experts argue that tilling distorts moisture and accelerates soil erosion.

Planting without tilling is a better solution to maximum output; therefore, the no-till seed planter fulfills the purpose.

4. Row Crop Planter:

One of the most commonly used seed planters in the fields, a row crop planter is ideal for farms and extensive agricultural lands. The Row Crop Planter consists of a hopper for holding seeds, disks to cover the seeds with soil, and a series of tubes for efficiently delivering seeds to the prepared bed. It is attached to a tractor for better functioning and time management.

5. Precision Seed Planter:

As the name indicates, a modern innovation to seed planters, a precision seed planter, is utilized by farmers for an accurate plantation. Indeed, high-tech equipment for better results.

This equipment uses advanced technology that automatically lets farmers fix the depth and spacing of seeds with precision. It comes with the capacity to plant different types of crops in the same field.

What is the Difference Between a Seeder and a Planter?

A seeder is primarily used to distribute seeds evenly across a large land area and is towed by a tractor. A planter helps position each seed at the right depth and is more suited for precision sowing in smaller fields.

A seeder and planter are often synonymous with farming equipment since they help plant seeds. However, these tools have a fundamental difference in functionality and construction that should be considered:

Seeder:

The seeder will be your machine of choice if you want to uniformly distribute seeds over a prepared soil bed. It also helps plant seeds in even rows but needs to be adapted to cover them with soil. It is typically towed behind a tractor for maximum coverage.

Planter:

In retrospect, if you are looking for something more particular and precise, the planter will be your equipment of choice. Generally, a planter is employed for the precision of depth and spacing.

The main difference in construct with a seeder is the presence of a hopper and a series of tubes. A planter may also cover the seeds with soil, thus ensuring proper germination and avoiding waste. Therefore, it generally is used in smaller fields.

How Much Does a Row Planter Cost?

A new row crop planter can cost you $30,000 to $50,000. The precision-based modern mechanized planters can cost as high as $100,000 too.

If you want to start with something more budget-friendly, many used row planters are available at lower prices. Expect a price range between $10,000 to $60,000 based on features and condition.

Which row planter is the best for your land and easy on your pocket? Depending on cost and brand, row planters could have multiple options. With the price, the features will vary.

• Overall cost and timeliness: The cost of a row planter depends on two essential criteria: Overall costs and timeliness. Overall costs comprise all cost arrears, such as labor, depreciation, interest, fuel, etc. For an accurate calculation of plantation, time needs to avoid yield losses that timeliness covers.
• Size of the row planter: The cost of a row planter may also depend upon its size. Planters are of various sizes, which affects their overall quality, usability, and price. Smaller models are generally more cost-effective than larger ones.
• Modern or older row planter: As technology progresses, modern row planters are equipped with unique features such as navigation, precision systems, and depth and space measuring technology that can reduce costs. Such features are often a good investment for working on large acres of land but are expensive.

What is The Difference Between a Seed Planter and a Seed Drill?

A seed planter and a seed drill serve the same purpose on the farm. Both machines are used for planting seeds. The main difference is their mode of operation.

• Seed drill: A seed drill is generally used to plant seeds in even rows with a precise depth, the distance between the rows being almost 4-6 inches precisely. It spreads the seeds uniformly without covering them up with soil.
• Seed planter: A seed planter is generally used for larger seeds. It helps plant large seeds in even rows with a wider spacing. The traditional row spacing by a seed planter is roughly 20-40 inches. Unlike a seed drill, a seed planter covers the seeds with soil.

What Do Farmers Use to Plant Seeds?

Various types of equipment are available for planting seeds depending on the soil type, the crop, environmental conditions, and the cultivated area. Generally, seed drills, broadcast seeders, and hand-held planters are used.

• Grain drill: When it comes to wheat and soybean plantation, a grain drill is most often used. This type of drill comes with a no-till mechanism, also available in the no-till drill.
• Disc: With the advent of modern technology, the air is now used to transport seeds from a hopper into tubes and a disc. The function of the disc is to distribute the seeds in the soil and cut through the leftover residue.
• Planters: A planter is now more frequently used for planting seeds, ensuring the precision of depth and distancing amid rows of the plantation. It is essential for crops such as corn and sunflowers.

How Does a Seed Planter Work?

A seeder planter utilizes various mechanisms for three main functions, i.e., storing, dispensing, and planting seeds.

The general working principle of a seeder planter is simple:

• Storing: Store the seeds in a container.
• Dispensing: It uses a metering system to accurately determine the rate at which the seeds must be fed. It also distributes the seeds to each planting unit based on that rate. A mechanical drive generally controls this rate.
• Planting: The planting units open the soil by forming a groove and dropping the seeds into it. Afterward, the wheels close this furrow and press the soil to ensure the seeds are planted and covered with soil for protection.

The entire assembly is tethered to a tractor and can be driven around large areas for maximum coverage in a short period.

How Does a One-Row Planter Work?

The single-row planter consists of front wheels, a chain, a shaft, a container, a disk, and a lever. The front wheels rotate to allow the chain, which turns the shaft, to drop the seeds in the container through the disk.

The seeds are evenly dropped being the plow. Its precision and accuracy can also be controlled by controlling the size of the opening beneath the seed chamber.

A row planter generally dispenses, propels, and covers seeds in rows. It facilitates farmers by improving germination and crop growth, and this, in turn, leads to a fruitful harvest.

What Does a Farm Planter Look Like?

A farm planter is a farm implement attached to a tractor and used to plant seeds in the soil. The essential features of a farm planter include the following:

• Frame
• Seed Bin
• Seed Hopper
• Depth Control
• Closing System
• Drive Mechanism

The farm planter aptly ensures row width and spacing. This equipment generally ranges from a two-row unit to a forty-eight-row unit.

What Is a Farm Seeder?

A farm seeder is commonly used when planting seeds on a farm or a large agricultural land of acres. The farm seeder has various designs, from hand-held to huge seeders pulled with a tractor. All farm seeders, regardless of their sizes, have similar features and mechanisms for efficient seed plantation. It helps save farmers’ time and labor and ensures a better product for the season.