Plows are for opening ground, also known as sodbusting. Plows cut through the sod and invert the sod so the sod roots are up, hopefully killing the sod and sod root structure. There are two types of sod busting plows: Moldboard Plow and Disc Plow. (Disc Plow is NOT a Disc Harrow.) Plowing is the first step in preparing virgin land for agricultural use.
Cons: With the increase in no-till agricultural practices, using Roundup herbicide or equivalent, plows are mostly used just for opening ground, then they sit. It is getting difficult to find replacement wear parts for old plows. Learning to adjust a plow to invert ground correctly takes quite a few hours of experience and experimentation. After plowing the field has deep furrows in it, which require smoothing. Generally, a Disc Harrow is preferred to smooth furrows and mix the furrow soil after inverted sod has decomposed.
Cultivator tines pass through the earth in a mostly horizontal orientation. Cultivator tines will not penetrate unplowed ground. Tines are adjustable in spread, so tines can pass on either side of a crop row, pulling weeds, until the crop grows as tall as the tractors ground clearance. Cultivators weigh considerably less than plows. Using a cultivator requires very little skill. There are many different cultivator designs.
Photos #!,#2,#3 Kubota L3560. Photo #4 Kubota BX2230 cultivating blueberry rows.