Reducing disc harrow width

pv31 · Jan 26, 2015

Hi

Has anyone shortened a wide (ex. 10' disc on wheels) to say 6 or 7' for orchards? I just don't see too many good 6' discs out there. Most of them on the 3 point hitches seem light and the offset orchard discs (there's one by bushhog) are either really expensive or not readily available. Pictures of any orchard discs or shortened discs would be great.

Also, what's your opinion on the mf 25 disc? Haven't seen one in person, but the axle and blades seem a little thin and small compared to ones of an average 10' disc. Can it penetrate to a good depth?

Appreciate any input.
Thanks.

jeff9366 · Jan 26, 2015

What is an 'Orchard Disc' in Canada?

In Florida an Orchard Disc for Citrus is a towed offset Disc Harrow with large hubs to prevent the disc from penetrating more than three inches.

Both Monroe Tufline and Brown Manufacturing make 6' and 8' Three Point Hitch mounted Tandem Disc Harrows in the 900 to 1,100 pound range but they are priced north of $2,400, with Brown heavier and more expensive than Tufline. If you want a full on ag HD Disc Harrow in 6' to 8' you have to pay for same. ( I have a Tufline 18/20" Tandem Disc Harrow, 6'-8" cutting width, 890 pounds, $2,430 before tax.)

How heavy is your tractor? These beasts require quite a lot of weight and power to pull, even in Florida sandy loam.

MF Model 25 Disc Harrows have a high reputation but as none have been manufactured in 30+ years it is unlikely you will find a MF25 in functioning condition.

LINKS:

http://www.monroetufline.com/pdf/TufLiftDiscMech8_5_11B.PDF

BDH Disc Harrows | Brown Manufacturing | 800-633-8909

mddorange · Jan 27, 2015

:welcome:
To the forum pv31.

pv31 · Jan 27, 2015

My understanding is that an orchard disc could be either a 6' disc harrow or a 6' offset disc. I see them being used in peach orchards and vineyards. Not sure why you would only want it to penetrate 3inches, as a s tine cultivator could do that much. To my understanding, you would want it to penetrate at least 7-8 inches, after which you could use a cultivator to level out and then plant grass. With a disc harrow you might have to use a chisel plow from time to time to break up any hardpan, whereas an offset could do that on its own. Anyways, I'm no expert but that's my understanding.

Also, I'm interested in hearing what kind of practices are done in the orange orchards. Over here a lot of people just use the above equipment once and then plant a permanent orchard grass and keep maintaining it.

Going back to the point of the discs. In my opinion, it just seems more reasonable to buy a 10' disc and then reduce the width with some cutting, welding and reinforcing. They are available used anywhere from $400-800. Even if I put another $300-500, it will still be cheaper and better (larger diameter discs and be on hydraulic adjusted wheels). It is a considerable price difference (1/3 the total cost) and a heavy duty model is probably above 3000 plus tax.

Just wondering if anybody has done what I'm talking.

Thanks in advance for any input.

jeff9366 · Jan 27, 2015

pv31 said:
It just seems more reasonable to buy a 10' disc and then reduce the width with some cutting, welding and reinforcing. They are available used anywhere from $400-800. Even if I put another $300-500, it will still be cheaper and better (larger diameter discs and be on hydraulic adjusted wheels).

I see wheel discs at my local auction yard regularly. I do not know what they go for at auction, but I expect reasonably.

What tractor weight and horsepower do you have?

There have been several threads on T-B-N about reducing the width on wheel discs. I have searched the archive but must not have the correct key words as nothing germane comes up. Perhaps another contributor will be able to provide germane threads from the archive.

pv31 · Jan 27, 2015

my tractor is around 50 hp, am able to pull a 10' disc harrow

flusher · Jan 28, 2015

pv31 said:
Hi

Has anyone shortened a wide (ex. 10' disc on wheels) to say 6 or 7' for orchards? I just don't see too many good 6' discs out there. Most of them on the 3 point hitches seem light and the offset orchard discs (there's one by bushhog) are either really expensive or not readily available. Pictures of any orchard discs or shortened discs would be great.

Also, what's your opinion on the mf 25 disc? Haven't seen one in person, but the axle and blades seem a little thin and small compared to ones of an average 10' disc. Can it penetrate to a good depth?

Appreciate any input.
Thanks.