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Soil tilling: a practical guide to doing it right
News _ 30 NOVEMBER _2025
Whether dealing with large arable fields or medium-small plots for horticultural crops, soil tilling is a fundamental agronomic practice. It involves the mechanical processing of the soil’s surface layer using specific tools, such as a tiller.
The main objective is to break up and soften the soil, improving its structure and creating optimal conditions for sowing or transplanting. Tilling enhances soil aeration, increases water retention capacity, and ensures better distribution of nutrients. Additionally, this technique helps incorporate crop residues, fertilizers, and organic matter, thereby improving soil fertility and controlling weeds.
Tilling is one of the most effective interventions in conservation agriculture, as it can prepare the seedbed in a single pass without requiring additional operations, except possibly rolling before sowing. In particular, it is highly useful for preparing seedbeds for cover crops, as it significantly reduces processing time when performed as a superficial treatment.
When should you till the soil?
Tilling is generally performed at specific times of the year, depending on the type of crop and climatic conditions.
In spring, this operation is useful for preparing the soil for spring sowing by breaking the surface crust and facilitating soil warming. In autumn, tilling can be done to incorporate summer crop residues and promote the decomposition of organic matter throughout the winter.
It is important to avoid tilling when the soil is too wet, as this can cause harmful compaction, or too dry, as it may reduce the effectiveness of the operation.
How to till the soil?
Tilling requires some precautions to be carried out correctly. First of all, it is essential to assess soil conditions: it should be well-drained and not excessively compact.
Before starting, any stones or debris that could damage the various components of the equipment must be removed. During tilling, it is important to maintain a steady speed and proceed uniformly, avoiding excessive overlaps. The working depth varies depending on the crop; for vegetables or ornamental lawns, it ranges between 10 and 20 cm, while for tree crops, a shallower depth may be sufficient.
Which tools to use for tilling?
The most common tools for tilling are mechanical tillers, which are equipped with rotating blades that break and mix the soil. While they perform similar tasks, tillers should not be confused with rotary hoes – tillers have flexible working elements, whereas rotary hoes use rigid blades.
Here are the main types of tillers:
- Mounted tiller: attached directly to a tractor via a three-point hitch, suitable for medium-sized fields.
- Rototiller: ideal for small plots, home gardens, and vegetable patches.
- Stone-burrier tiller: designed for stony soils, capable of separating rocks from the tilled soil.
- Rotary disc tiller: used in intensive farming to prepare large areas quickly.
The choice of tool depends on field size, crop type, and soil composition.
Advantages of tilling
Tilling offers numerous agronomic benefits. First of all, it improves soil structure by increasing porosity, water retention capacity, and gas exchange, which are essential for microbial activity. It also simplifies seedbed preparation, reducing processing time.
Additionally, tilling is an excellent technique for incorporating organic and mineral fertilizers into the soil. Finally, it helps reduce weed competition by burying them and limiting their regrowth.
Disadvantages of tilling
Despite its benefits, tilling also has some drawbacks. Due to its increased softness, tilled soil has lower load-bearing capacity, making it more susceptible to the effects of trampling and settling, which means field traffic must be carefully managed.
One of the most critical aspects is the increased pressure of certain weed species. The blades fragment and disperse rhizomes, promoting the spread of rhizomatous weeds such as couch grass and Johnson grass.
In conclusion, tilling is a useful and often essential agricultural practice, but it must be carried out carefully, considering soil conditions and crop-specific needs. Contact us to learn more about this practice or browse our catalog if you’re interested in one or more of our machines!
Author
R&S Forigo
Research and Development Division of Forigo Roteritalia. Team of experts engaged in the study and analysis of the main agricultural and horticultural techniques used today. Knowledge combined with competence are the starting point for continuous improvement in a scenario of innovation and technological development.
Last update
05/03/2025
