Paraplow: fracturing soil along natural lines.

I&T FIRST heard about Howard Rotavator's Paraplow late in 1981, when we were getting together a special issue on conservation tillage practices and equipment.

A design engineer for a major manufacturer was musing over the changes we were experiencing, and he said: "Just when you think you've seen everything, something pops up like this Paraplow the British have."

That set us off on a bit of a chase and we found out enough to include in our special issue something about the Paraplow and its distinctive feature, the 45-degree angle that its legs have.

The Paraplow came on the British market in 1980 and was first introduced to North America at retail in September, 1983, by its subsidiary at Muscoda, Wis. Before it was launched over here, however, further development was necessary.

What is the Paraplow? Howard people call it a "deep working soil loosener that remedies soil compaction, improves moisture absorption and controls soil erosion."

The slanted leg is drawn through the soil to a depth of approximately 14 inches. The leg assembly includes replaceable shin plates, an adjustable shatter plate, and a foot with a replaceable point at the toe and a replaceable landslide underneath.

The slanted leg concept was originated by Dr. A.N. Ede, a scientist with Britain's National Institute of Agricultural Engineering. The slant provides a lifting action to the soil, claims Howard, and causes it to fracture "along its natural lines of weakness" all the way up to the surface.

The shatter plate is adjustable to alter the lifting force so that the desired fracturing can be achieved even in heavy soils, the company says. No soil is inverted, no clods are created and almost all crop residue remains on the surface to protect against water and wind erosion, Howard asserts.

Before the Paraplow was introduced in the U.S., Howard had to design a second version of the Paraplow's leg which could readily handle large amounts of crop residue. It was felt by Howard marketers that one of the strongest North American markets for the machine would be in the Corn Belt.

According to Brian Inverarity, product manager for the Paraplow at Howard Rotavator in Wisconsin, the design of the "trash leg" was a joint project between the parent company and its subsidiary. "We worked on over 30 leg designs before the version you now see was introduced," he said. "And the frames for the North American market were designed here."

As for its progress in the marketplace, Inverarity comments that all the elements for great success--the necessary new breed of no-till planters and drills, the awareness of compaction and erosion problems--are present except one: a fair farm economy.