The Background
The agricultural industry is in the midst of a vast trend referred to as crop intensification, utilizing plastic mulch, which is quickly becoming the industry standard for growing high value fresh market vegetables because plastic mulch and raised beds control moisture better than on bare ground applications. As a result, much less fertilizer is needed because very little leaches away. Pesticide usage is reduced and the harvest results in higher quality and quantity.
The Challenge
To develop a universal ground engaging system for planting through plastic mulch that has the ability to configure for planting seed only, seed and planting medium, and transplant seedlings. This system also should be of modular design that can easily adapt to multiple configurations that account for diverse variables in the field, like differences in plant spacing, flat versus raised beds, or varying row centers. An all-inclusive system would include other planting enhancements such as burning a hole in the plastic, tamping the soil around the planting and spraying water over it. And perhaps most importantly, the system must have a good cost benefit ratio and be of a level of sophistication that the end user can service, repair, adjust, etc. with ease.
The Solution