HAIR PINNING RESIDUE

Some would say that this crop is in trouble with all the hair pinned stubble showing in the seed rows.  

The pic above shows hair pinning of residue in the seed slot left by our CrossSlot drill.  This is normal with any disc opener whether it is a double or single disc. The difference in the CrossSlot is in  the placement of the seed.  With the CrossSlot the disc punches the residue (some of it is cut in the process, and the remainder pushed down in the traditional hairpin manner) to the bottom of the disc; however, the seed is not nestled in the hair pinned residue, but resides outside of the residue on a shelf surrounded by good earth.  The design of the packer wheels (shape, angle, and position) close the slot firmly without packing directly over the slot leaving an area of low resistance for the new cotyledon.   By adding residue to the slot, still lower resistance can be acquired and seed (large and small) can be emerged from deeper in the soil profile than would normally seem prudent.  With this being said, I am convinced that failed stands are more likely to happen by seeding too shallow, rather than seeding too deep.  This of course is contingent on the technology built into this opener not being compromised which impacts the integrity of the slot.

Pic's above show emerged stand of mustard in rows that appear to be hair pinned.  We're very pleased with the population that averages 6 plants per lineal foot on 10" row spacing.  The seeding rate was 5.5 pounds per acre.  We have had little or no moisture since seeding and under the residue the surface of the ground is very damp.  Exposed ground is showing drying condition.