The Plough. by PEEQ.

The plow is a further development of the heel and loom or hook plow, and was originally pulled by people or pack animals such as oxen and horses. The hook plough, which slid through the ground, merely stirred up the soil. The next development was the mounting of a turning blade or rister under the plow pole, which was finally equipped with two wheels at the front. With this, the reversible plow was born. This rister turns the soil over so that the subsoil comes up and the surface with weeds, roots and remnants of a previous harvest is plowed under.

The basic parts of a plow are: a blade or disc coulter, a furrow, a cutter and the rister. There are different types of ploughs depending on the type of soil; for example sand, loam or clay, or the construction; single shear or multi-sharp, rotating or circular.

Ploughing is necessary to loosen the soil, which improves the soil structure and drainage and facilitates sowing and germination of the crop. In plowing, the remnants of the harvested crop with its roots and shot up weeds are plowed under, serving as fertilizer.

A plough can be combined with a furrow opener to prepare the soil for sowing or planting in one pass.

A disadvantage of regular ploughing at the same depth is that the subsoil still forms a poorly permeable layer because the wheels of the tractor press on the plough furrow in combination with the silting up of the subsoil. To undo this, it is possible to use a decompactor to break up this layer.