WO2016015088A1

WO2016015088A1 - Agricultural apparatus and methods

Info

Publication number: WO2016015088A1
Application number: PCT/AU2015/000446
Authority: WO
Inventors: Peter YUNGHANNS; John Sheehan; Robert BINKS
Original assignee: Rentiers Machinery Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2014-07-30
Filing date: 2015-07-28
Publication date: 2016-02-04

Abstract

A method for treating soil, the method comprising forming a channel in a body of soil, and depositing treatment material in the base of the channel in a line along the channel and thereafter, closing the channel. The channel can be formed to have a depth of between 20 to 70cm. A machine (40) for subsoil treatment, the machine (40) including a ripping tyne (55) that can be drawn through a body of soil, the tyne (55) being operable to form a channel and the machine (40) further being operable to deposit a treatment material in the base of the channel in a line along the channel and thereafter to close the channel.

Description

AGRICULTURAL APPARATUS AND METHODS

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to an agricultural device for treating soil, whereby the treatment in one form relates to subsoil manuring, which comprises laying manure at depth. The present invention also relates to a method for treating soil.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The following discussion of the background to the invention is intended to facilitate an understanding of the invention. However, it should be appreciated that the discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the application.

[0003] The present invention has been developed for the purpose of improving the soil conditions or characteristics (hereinafter "characteristics") for improved growing conditions for agricultural crops, such as canola and wheat. However, the present invention is expected to have other uses and benefits and so the invention is not intended to be limited to just to the improvement of soil characteristics. For example, the present invention is expected to be appropriate for use in relation to improved distribution of nutrients in soil for the purpose of improved growing conditions. The invention is also expected to enable a reduction in the use of nutrients and fertilisers through improved soil conditions, so that the cost associated with the use of nutrients and fertilisers might be reduced. The invention could also provide other benefits, such as in relation to efficiency of water use.

[0004] Soil characteristics can have a significant impact on agricultural output, for example from crops such as canola and wheat. Soils appropriate for agricultural cropping generally have a topsoil and a subsoil and in some regions, the topsoil is relatively shallow, so that the subsoil commences relatively close to the surface of the soil. In such areas, these types of subsoils can present a barrier to both root and water penetration. This is particularly the case where the subsoil is dense clay sodic subsoil and further discussion will be made in relation to that type of soil, although it is to be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the treatment of that type of soil.

[0005] In relation to root penetration, strong and healthy growth of crops can be affected if the depth to which the roots of a crop can extend is limited. In relation to water penetration, the capacity of the soil to store water is critical for crop growth during times of low rainfall or when the water requirements for a crop exceed the water available within the soil.

[0006] Dense clay sodic subsoils either present a complete barrier to root penetration, or at least present a difficulty to root penetration. This means that many crops that otherwise might be contemplated for a particular agricultural region having that type of soil might be rejected based on the difficulties for crop growth in the soil of the region. Alternatively, crops might be grown in the region, but with an understanding that the crop yield will likely be lower than in regions with different soil composition.

[0007] Dense clay sodic subsoils also present a difficulty with water storage for regions where the cropping season bridges both wet and dry months. For example, southern Australian areas can be wet through March to August and dry from September to February. Where a crop is to be harvested in October to February, the absence of sufficient soil water or moisture from September onwards can affect the final and critical growth period of the crop and thus the final yield that is achieved. This is not such a problem in soil in which the clay subsoil is quite deep, or where the clay subsoil is relatively porous. However, where the clay subsoil is close to the surface of the soil, such as within 20 to 60cm of the surface and/or where the clay subsoil is not very porous, retention of water or moisture within the soil can be insufficient without top-up rainfall during the typically dry months to produce high crop yields. High crop yield in southern Australian areas is often dependent on rainfall during spring and summer, but such rainfall is not reliable. Reliance on spring and summer rain can be reduced if water can be retained or stored in the soil during autumn and winter.

[0008] The present applicant understands the deficiencies with the type of dense clay sodic soils discussed above and has sought to provide a solution that improves the characteristics of those soils, in particular that alters the dense clay sodic subsoil for improved water retention and/or root penetration, ultimately for improved crop yield. It is to be noted however that the present applicant considers that the benefits of the present invention that are evident in relation to dense clay sodic subsoils, could also apply to other types of soils and therefore the present invention is not restricted to that specific form of soil.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0009] The present invention provides a method for treating soil and/or for improving soil characteristics. The method comprises forming a channel in the soil being treated, the channel being formed to have a depth of between 30 to 70cm and depositing treatment material in the base of the channel in a line along the channel and thereafter, closing the channel. The step of closing can be as a result of natural collapse of the channel or it can be facilitated by mechanical closure. It is intended that the depth of the channel is sufficient for the channel to extend into the subsoil of the soil being treated.

[0010] The present invention also provides an agricultural device or machine for treating soil and/or for improving soil characteristics, the machine including a ripping tyne that can be drawn through a body of soil, the tyne being operable to form a channel to a depth of between 30 to 70cm, the machine further being operable to deposit a treatment material in the base of the channel in a line along the channel and thereafter to close the channel. The requirement to close the channel can be as a result of natural collapse of the channel that the machine allows, or it can be facilitated by a mechanical device that facilitates closure. Again, it is intended that the depth of the channel is sufficient for the channel to extend into the subsoil of the soil being treated. [0011] The present invention thus provides a method and device or machine that can deposit a treatment material into the subsoil of a body of soil to a specific depth of between 30 to 70 cm. The treatment material can be deposited in a continuous line along the base of the channel that is formed, whereby the continuous line can be formed without breaks or it can be formed in disconnected sections along the base depending on the requirements. Regardless, the treatment material will be located within the subsoil as required.

[0012] Critical to one aspect of the invention is that the treatment material is one that has the effect of improving the soil characteristics for improved growing conditions for agricultural crops. In testing to date, a treatment material that has successfully improved the soil characteristics is untreated and screened chicken manure. Testing has shown that the application of the chicken manure in the manner of the invention has had the effect of breaking down the clay subsoil so that the clay subsoil permits greater root penetration and has greater capacity for retention of water or moisture.

[0013] Moreover, in testing to date, the improved soil characteristics that have been obtained by the use of chicken manure treatment material have spread or migrated out from the base of the channel into which the chicken manure was initially deposited, so where the chicken manure is deposited in adjacent channels, over time, the improved the soil characteristics migrate from the respective channels towards each other so that the characteristics of all of the soil between the channels is improved. Testing has not concluded at this stage as to whether there is a maximum migration distance, but several factors will affect that issue, such as the amount and density of chicken manure that is deposited into the channel, the composition of the chicken manure, the composition of the subsoil and the timing of the application of the manure.

[0014] In testing to date, large areas of relatively poor quality soil having a dense clay sodic subsoil, have been improved by treatment in accordance with the invention. Higher crop yields have been achieved as compared to adjacent and untreated soil of the same composition. These results have been most prominent when there has been little or no rainfall in the dry months and so the improved ability for the treated soil to retain water or moisture has provided maximum benefit. For example the applicant achieved a yield of 4.5 tonnes per hectare for a Canola crop in 2014 in soil treated according to the invention, compared with 2.7 tonnes per hectare on adjacent and untreated soil (untreated according to the invention).

[0015] Chicken manure has formed the first treatment material that has been extensively used in testing of the invention. It was selected initially due to its known manure properties and its ready availability. However, chicken manure is unlikely to be a suitable treatment material for large scale use because there is unlikely to be sufficient ready supply for that use and even if the supply was available, the collection of large scale amounts of chicken manure is expected to be too inconvenient and uneconomic. While other treatment materials might include pig and cow manure and composts of varying forms, the expectation is that a synthetic treatment material may need to be produced for larger volume use and to decrease overall material cost.

[0016] The machinery according to some forms of the invention has employed a body of chicken manure in a large container or bin and has employed an air assisted delivery system to transfer the manure from the bin to feeding heads, that feed the manure at a position behind the tyne (relative to the direction of normal tyne travel), so that once the tyne has produced the channel, the manure is immediately deposited into the channel. This arrangement is suitable also for other treatment materials and so is not limited just to chicken manure. Immediate deposition of the manure is not essential, however by immediate deposition into the channel, the depth of deposition is substantially guaranteed to be as desired, as the manure is deposited prior to any substantial collapse of the channel. Thus, in some soils, a channel which is formed at a depth of say 40cm might collapse in part so that the actual depth to the base of the channel is reduced. Accordingly, by depositing the manure as soon as the channel is formed, the risk of the manure being deposited other than at the desired depth is minimised. [0017] Air assisted delivery of the treatment material between the bin and the tynes can be achieved in any suitable manner, and most likely is through delivery tubes or ducting. In some forms of the invention, a plurality of tynes are aligned one next to another and an air assisted delivery system is assigned to each tyne. The air assisted delivery might occur through a single duct from the bin and be separated into multiple ducts at a suitable manifold, or the ducts may extend directly from the bin.

[0018] The air of the delivery system can be produced by any suitable arrangement, and in some forms of the invention, fans are used to create an air flow through the delivery tubes. In an early form of the invention, a fan assembly was mounted to the rear of the bin and air flow was delivered from the rear of the bin to the front of the bin where manure was deposited into the air flow for delivery to the tynes. In this early form of the invention, the mechanism for depositing manure into the respective delivery tubes included a venturi and auger arrangement that delivered manure to the venturi and that created suction to suck manure into the delivery tubes.

[0019] The use of a venturi and auger arrangement performed adequately but for some treatment material at higher volume of manure deposition, the Venturis could block. Accordingly, in a more recent form of the invention, rotary valves have been employed to deposit manure into the ducts. The rotary valves are more reliable against blocking than the previous venturi and auger arrangement and are more accurate in terms of the amount of manure that is deposited into the ducts.

[0020] A further development of the invention has included shifting the fan assembly from the rear of the bin to a position adjacent to the front of the bin. A more compact fan assembly has been employed and this new arrangement has reduced substantially the length of ducting from the fan assembly to the tynes. Where previously the fan assembly was located at the rear of the bin, the total distance that the ducting was required to cover was about 12 to 15m. In the more recent development, that distance has reduced to about 1 .5 to 3m. This reduced distance has resulted in substantially reduced friction losses through the ducting.

[0021] In the above form of the invention, the front of the bin can feed into a hopper or mixing chamber which includes openings that feed into the ducts of the delivery system. Rotary valves can be positioned between the hopper and the ducts. A mixer can be positioned in the hopper that continuously mixes the treatment material that is fed into the hopper so that the treatment material is continuously pushed towards or into the openings of the hopper and which prevents build-up of treatment material between the openings.

[0022] An additional or auxiliary delivery system could be employed to feed or inject nutrients, chemicals or fertilisers into the treatment material. This could be a spray system that is located at any suitable position and is suitable to inject nutrients, chemicals or fertilisers for spray injection into the bin, or the hopper or directly into the channel.

[0023] Delivery of the treatment material between the bin and the tynes can be achieved by other mechanisms including by pneumatic delivery, conveyor delivery or auger feed (flexible centerless auger feed screws can be employed for example).

[0024] Where an air flow is created through the ducting, the ducts may taper to a narrow exit at the point of delivery behind the tynes, or a suitable nozzle attachment might be employed. At this stage, it is not thought to be necessary for the treatment material to be precisely delivered to form a line on the base of the channel, as long as the majority of material reaches the base of the channel which is formed.

[0025] The pressure or velocity under which the treatment material flows can change between the bin and the tynes, so that at the tynes, the treatment material is under relatively low pressure compared to earlier portions of the ducts. A high velocity in the early parts of the ducting has advantages when the treatment material is a chicken manure or like treatment material, as the high velocity tends to separate the particles or granules of the manure so that clumps of manure are not delivered to the base of the channel formed by the tynes. This provides a first advantage in that the treatment material does not form blockages in the ducting , while the line of manure which is formed on the base or the channel is relatively consistent in size and density.

[0026] As indicated earlier, the treatment material can be provided in an untreated, pelletised, granulated or powderised form. Testing completed to date has been made in respect of chicken manure as the treatment material and with the manure being provided in an untreated, powderised form. In order to reach that form, the raw chicken manure has been sieved to a particle size of about 15 to 20mm Compost material has also been used without the need for sieving. However, it is expected that the invention could operate with large or smaller sized particles, in particular where the treatment material is other than chicken manure.

[0027] The treatment material can be organic or synthetic and can be provided in various forms. This includes the solid forms as discussed above, as well as different solid forms, or liquid forms, or liquid slurries, suspensions or solutions. Treatment materials that are formed as a liquid, slurry, solution or suspension could be sprayed into the base of the channel rather than deposited as is undertaken with chicken manure and like materials that are provided in a solid form.

[0028] Other forms of treatment material could include crop residues, mushroom compost, lucerne, composted green or food waste, biosolids, mill waste or any other form of organic material. This list is not exhaustive and the applicant is cognisant that other treatment materials could exist and that new treatment materials could become evident as the invention is employed and is further developed.

[0029] In the forms of the invention which have been tested to date, the tynes have been provided in a unit, which comprise six or eight tynes, which are in spaced apart, side-by-side relationship. The space between the tynes is approximately 1 metre. This spacing has been chosen to allow the treatment material that is deposited into each channel to migrate into the soil adjacent the channel in a controlled manner. This ensures that the clay subsoil in the immediate vicinity of the roots that grow from seeds planted adjacent the channel is treated to allow growth of the roots to penetrate into the treated clay subsoil. This further allows the retained water or moisture to be in the immediate vicinity of the roots. The volume of treatment material that has been deposited in trials conducted to date has been in the region of about 15 to 20 tonne of chicken manure per hectare.

[0030] It is to be appreciated that any number of tynes could be employed such as more or less than six or eight.

[0031] The tynes described above are also known as "rippers" and that term will be referred to also in the description of the drawings that follows.

[0032] The invention concerns soil improvement and can be undertaken before the commencement of sowing, or when the field is in fallow.

[0033] The depth to which the treatment material is deposited has been described as being between 30 to 70cm, preferably 30 to 50cm already. That depth is suitable for land which has been tested to date and which has a top soil of a depth of about 15 to 20cm above a dense sodic clay subsoil. Thus, the treatment material is deposited about 10 to 55cm below the upper level of the top soil. Accordingly, a different way of expressing the invention is to define that the treatment material is laid approximately 10 to 55cm cm into the clay subsoil layer. Thus, in other areas where the clay subsoil is lower or higher than the land on which testing has been undertaken to date, the invention can still apply but would require a different depth of deposition relative to the depth of the clay subsoil.

[0034] Alternatively, the depth of deposition could be maintained between 30 and 70cm, but the density or amount of treatment material could be increased or decreased depending on the proximity of the upper level of the clay subsoil. The expectation is that the invention will reside in a relationship between the depth of treatment material deposition relative to the upper level of the clay subsoil and the depth of the top soil, and the amount and density of the deposited treatment material.

[0035] Moreover, this relative nature of the invention might change depending on the type of treatment material which is employed.

[0036] It has also been described above that a major improvement in soil characteristic has been observed in the arrangements which have been employed to date, i.e. the use of chicken manure as a treatment material and deposited in a line at the base of a channel at a depth of between 30 to 70cm below the surface of the soil. These parameters could well change if the characteristics which are desirable for a particular region are not related to root penetration or water retention in clay subsoil, but relate to other aspects of the clay subsoil, or relate to other aspects of the soil composition. For example, the treatment material could include nutrients for enriching the soil for the promotion of healthy crops, and/or the treatment could include fertilisers or insecticides to prevent subsoil attack of the root structure of the crop being grown. The method of the invention in this case could therefore be achieved by forming a channel in the soil being treated and depositing the above forms of treatment material at the base of the channel in a line along the channel and thereafter, closing the channel.

[0037] Likewise, the present invention could extend to a machine for subsoil treatment, the machine including a ripping tyne that can be drawn through a body of soil, the tyne being operable to form a channel and the machine further being operable to deposit a treatment material of the above forms in the base of the channel in a line along the channel and thereafter to close the channel.

[0038] In a machine according to the invention, a tyne arrangement of the kind described above has been employed, which is formed as a single unit and which is drawn by a prime mover such as a tractor. The machine further includes a wheeled bin that is drawn from a position behind the tynes and which communicates with the tynes through a series of ducts for the purpose of delivering the treatment material from the bin to a position just behind the tynes. An air generating system is provided to provide the delivery medium for transporting the manure from the bin to the tynes.

[0039] In an alternative arrangement, a bin could be provided as an integral component of the tyne unit, and in some forms of the invention, the treatment material could fall under gravity to the desired position behind the tynes, or a pneumatic, vacuum or mechanical system could be employed. Mechanical feed could include a worm gear arrangement whereby the treatment material is delivered for ejection behind the tynes, or even a conveyor arrangement could be employed. Clearly a great variety of mechanisms to deliver the treatment material from a storage facility (the bin in the forms of the invention described above), to the tyne unit, can be employed.

[0040] The tynes themselves can take any suitable form as long as a suitable channel is created for the deposition of the treatment material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] In order that the invention may be more fully understood, some embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures in which:

[0042] Figure 1 is a side view of a machine according to the invention.

[0043] Figure 2 is a sketch of a portion of the machine of Figure 1 .

[0044] Figure 3 is a side view of a machine according to a second embodiment of the invention.

[0045] Figure 4 is a detailed view of the air delivery system of the machine of Figure 3.

[0046] Figure 5 is an underneath view of the air delivery system of the machine of Figure 3.

[0047] Figure 6 is a detailed view of the tyne unit of the machine of Figure 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0048] Figure 1 illustrates an agricultural device or machine (hereinafter "machine") according to one form of the invention that includes a prime mover in the form of a tractor 10, a tyne unit 1 1 and a container or bin 12. The tractor 10 is of a standard form and does not require any further explanation. A standard coupling 13 extends between the rear end of the tractor 10 and the tyne unit 1 1 and again, this is of a standard form.

[0049] The tyne unit 1 1 comprises six tynes or rippers 14, and which are spaced apart in side-by-side relationship. The tynes 14 are connected to a frame or infrastructure which includes a set of rear supporting wheels 15 on which the unit 1 1 rides, and one end of a delivery system 16 that delivers treatment material (in test conditions, chicken manure or compost), from within the bin 12 to a position just behind the tynes 14 in the forward direction of travel of the tractor 10.

[0050] The delivery system includes a plurality of ducts 17 that extend from the bin 12 to an air cyclone 18, and a duct 19 extends from the air cyclone 18 to a position just behind the tynes 14. This arrangement is repeated for each of the tynes 14.

[0051] The opposite end of the ducts 17 connect to a manifold 20 which receives treatment material from within the bin 12 and in which the chicken manure is presented for entrance into the ducts 17 via air pressure. The inside of the bin 12 includes a large bar that extends from one side of the bin to the opposite side and which can be moved so as to push the treatment material within the bin 12 forward towards the manifold 20. Once the treatment material enters the manifold 20, it is subject to high velocity airflow which drives the material into the ducts 17 and through to the rear side of the tynes 14.

[0052] With reference to Figure 2, the arrangement of Figure 1 is illustrated in partial form, and shows a single tyne or ripper 14 extending into the top soil 25a and the subsoil 25b below the topsoil 25a of a ground surface 26. As will be appreciated from the discussion above, the subsoil 25b is of greater density than the topsoil 25a. One duct 17 can be seen extending from the manifold 20 of the bin 12 and arrows A depict the direction of movement of treatment material from the manifold 20 through the ducts 17 and into the duct 19 from the air cyclone 18 for discharge through an outlet 27 and into a channel 28 which is formed by travel of the ripper 14 through the top soil 25a and the subsoil 25b. The depth D of the channel 28 is between 30 to 70cm, preferably 30 to 50cm with the topsoil 25a being at a depth of between 15 and 20cm, so that the channel extends into the subsoil 25b. The treatment material 30 is deposited in a line L along the base B of the channel 28 within the subsoil 25b. The line L is continuous, although as described earlier, it could be a discontinuous line.

[0053] Having deposited the treatment material 30 along the base B of the channel 28, the channel closes. Closure in this case is simply by collapse of the channel 28 shortly after the tyne 14 has created it. Collapse however does not occur before the treatment material 30 is deposited. In this respect where it is indicated that in the method and machine or device of the invention the channel is closed after depositing of treatment material in the base of the channel, that closure is to be understood as being a natural closure as a result of collapse of the channel, or a closure that is forced mechanically by the method and machine or device of the invention.

[0054] Accordingly, in some soil forms, the machine 10 might require a mechanism to close the channel. This can comprise any suitable arrangement, such as rollers that roll behind the channel 28 and push the soil that has been displaced to form the channel back into the channel. Various other mechanisms could alternatively be employed for this purpose.

[0055] The above arrangement of Figures 1 and 2 is an initial arrangement and shows that the invention was operable to improve the soil conditions to which it was exposed. That is, certain tracts of land were treated with the method and machinery according to Figures 1 and 2 and the soil composition of that land changed to an improved state for the growing of crops. As indicated earlier, testing showed a yield of 4.5 tonnes per hectare for a Canola crop in 2014 on treated land, compared to 2.7 tonnes per hectare on untreated land.

[0056] With these promising results in hand, the applicant has developed new machinery which improves the delivery time to treat land according to the invention. In this respect, with machinery according to that illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the delivery rate was less than 1 km/hr to deliver approximately 50m³ of chicken manure per hectare. With new machinery that has been developed, the speed of delivery is up to about 2.5 to 3 km/hr at the same delivery volume.

[0057] A first change to the machinery illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, was to fit rotary valves to the bottom of the manifold 20 and to feed treatment material into the rotary valves from the manifold 20 and to discharge into the ducts 17 from the outlets of the rotary valves. With this arrangement, the air cyclones 18 were removed and the ducts 17 either extended all the way to the discharge outlet 27, or they connected to the ducts 19 that extended to the outlets 27.

[0058] The benefit of using rotary valves was for reliability and accuracy. A person skilled in the art would understand that a rotary valve includes one or more chambers that rotates about a central axis and that is, in the present invention, open to treatment material within the manifold 20 for a period of rotation to fill the chamber, and then for the chamber to rotate with the treatment material therein into a position which it feeds or discharges the material into the ducts 17. The airflow through the ducts 17 will pick up the treatment material as it is deposited from the rotory valve and will thereafter deliver it to the discharge outlet 27.

[0059] This arrangement was an improvement over the earlier arrangement by the addition of the rotary valves. However, the applicant has further developed the invention and an overall view of the most recent development is shown in Figure 3. In Figure 3, an agricultural device or machine 40 is illustrated that includes a tyne unit 41 and a bin 42.

[0060] The bin 42 includes a front end 43 and a mechanism is disposed within the bin to push treatment material from a rear end of the bin 42 to the front end 43. This arrangement is the same as or very similar to the arrangement of Figures 1 and 2

[0061] At the front end 43, a hopper 44 is located and into which treatment material is collected from the bin 42 for feeding a plurality of rotary valves. Openings are formed through the bottom of the hopper 44 which are aligned with a plurality of rotary valves 45. The rotary valves 45 operate in the normal manner to receive treatment material from within the hopper 44 and to rotate that material into a position in which it can be fed into ducts 46. Figure 4 illustrates this arrangement in detail and also shows clearly the fans 47 that feed air at high velocity into a rear of the valves 45 so that treatment material which is rotated into alignment with the ducts 46 is picked up by the airflow and delivered through the ducting 46 to the outlets 48 of the ducting 46. Figure 4 also shows an end of a shaft 49 that extends through the hopper 44 and on which rotators or beaters are fixed to rotate within the hopper 44, to continually churn the treatment material in order to urge it into the openings in the bin for delivery to the rotatory valves 45, and to prevent the treatment material from clumping or restricting flow to the openings

[0062] Figure 5 is an underneath view of the arrangement of Figure 4, and clearly shows that each of the ducts 46 is connected to a rotary valve 45 and to a fan 47.

[0063] Returning to Figure 3, ripper 55 is shown without a duct connected to it. This is illustrated in more detail in Figure 6 and in that figure, it can be seen that the ripper 55 includes a ripper point 56 which is the initial contact area with the ground being treated, and a shroud or "boot" 57 which is U- shaped, and within which a delivery tube 58 is located. In the boot 57, the discharge end 59 of the delivery tube 58 is at a bottom end of the boot 57 while an inlet 60 is at an upper end of the boot 57. The tube 58 can be made of metal or plastic for example, while the ducts 46 might be made of a flexible tubing material. In this form of the invention, the inlet 60 would be connected to an outlet 48 of a duct 46. [0064] In other forms of the invention, the duct 46 would extend to the outlet 59 so that a separate tube 58 would not be required.

[0065] The arrangement of Figure 3 provides advantages in that the length of the ducts 46 are much less than the length of the tubing illustrated in Figure 1 . As indicated above, the length of the ducts 46 can be in the region of 1 .5 to 3 metres as opposed to the total tubing length of Figure 1 being in the region 12 to 15 metres. It follows that there are much reduced frictional losses in the device 40.

[0066] The fans 47 can be any suitable fan, but in the illustrated embodiment, they are centrifugal fans.

[0067] Figures 3 and 6 also show hydraulic rams that allow the tyne unit 41 to be lifted at opposite ends thereof to allow the unit 41 to be more easily towed when in transport to and from a treatment location and for more compact storage. In Figure 3, a section 61 of the tyne unit 41 has been lifted hydraulically, whereas the opposite section 62 is still lowered. Each side can be lifted as required for transport.

[0068] Moreover, the struts 63 of Figure 6 can allow the tynes themselves to be retracted from the operational position shown in Figure 6, to a non- operational position by rotation so that the central tynes that are not lifted as shown in Figure 3 can be retracted when those tynes are not required to dig into the ground (such as during road transport).

[0069] The invention described herein is susceptible to variations, modifications and/or additions other than those specifically described and it is to be understood that the invention includes all such variations, modifications and/or additions which fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0070] Throughout the description and claims of this specification the word "comprise" and variations of that word, such as "comprises" and "comprising", are not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1 . A method for treating soil, the method comprising forming a channel in a body of soil, the channel being formed to have a depth of between 20 to 70cm and depositing treatment material in the base of the channel in a line along the channel and thereafter, closing the channel.

2. A method for treating soil according to claim 1 , the method being applied to soil that comprises a topsoil and a subsoil beneath the topsoil and wherein the channel extends into the subsoil.

3. A method for treating soil according to claim 1 or 2, the channel being formed to have a depth of between 30 to 50cm.

4. A method for treating soil according to claim 2, wherein the channel extends into the subsoil to a depth of about 10 to 55cm.

5. A method for treating soil according to claim 2, wherein the channel extends into the subsoil to a depth of about 10 to 35cm.

6. A method for treating soil according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the treatment material being deposited in a continuous line along the base of the channel.

7. A method for treating soil according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the treatment material being deposited in disconnected sections along the base of the channel.

8. A method for treating soil according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the treatment material being untreated, screened, pelletised, granulated or powderised chicken manure.

9. A method for treating soil according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the treatment material being a synthetic material.

10. A method for treating soil according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the treatment material being provided in solid form, liquid form, liquid slurry form, as a suspension or a solution

1 1 . A method for treating soil according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the treatment material being a crop residue, mushroom compost, lucerne, composted green or food waste, biosolids, mill waste or other organic material.

12. A method for treating soil, the method comprising forming a channel in a body of soil and depositing treatment material in the base of the channel in a line along the channel and thereafter, closing the channel.

13. A method for treating soil according to any one of claims 1 to 12, the channel being formed to have a depth of between 30 to 70cm.

14. An agricultural device for treating soil, the device including a ripping tyne that can be drawn through a body of soil, the tyne being operable to form a channel to a depth of between 30 to 70cm, the device further being operable to deposit a treatment material in the base of the channel in a line along the channel and thereafter to close the channel.

15. An agricultural device according to claim 14, the device being operable to form a channel to a depth of between 30 to 50cm.

16. An agricultural device according to claim 14 or 15, the device being operable to deposit the treatment material in a continuous line along the base of the channel.

17. An agricultural device according to claim 14 or 15, the device being operable to deposit the treatment material in a continuous line formed by a series of disconnected sections, along the base of the channel.

18. An agricultural device according to any one of claims 14 to 17, the device including a plurality of tynes which are in spaced apart, side-by-side relationship and which can be drawn through a body of soil, each tyne being operable to form a channel to a depth of between 30 to 70cm and the device being operable to deposit a treatment material in the base of each channel in a line along the channel and thereafter to close each channel.

19. An agricultural device according to claim 18, the spacing between the tynes being approximately 1 metre.

20. An agricultural device according to any one of claims 14 to 19, the device including a hopper for containing a load of treatment material and a feeding head for each tyne of the device, the device further including a delivery system to transfer the treatment material from the hopper to each feeding head, each feeding head being operable to feed the treatment material to a position behind the tyne relative to the direction of travel of the tyne for forming a channel, so that once the tyne has produced a channel, the treatment material can be deposited into the channel.

21 . An agricultural device according to claim 20, the delivery system being an air assisted delivery system and including delivery tubes extending from the hopper to each feeding head through which the treatment material flows.

22. An agricultural device according to claim 21 , the pressure applied to the treatment material by the air assisted delivery system for travel through the delivery tubes being greater at the hopper than at each feeding head.

23. An agricultural device according to claim 20, the delivery system comprising pneumatic delivery, conveyor delivery or auger feed.

24. An agricultural device according to claim 20, the delivery system operating on gravity feed.

25. An agricultural device according to any one of claims 14 to 24, the device being operable to be drawn by a prime mover.

26. A machine for subsoil treatment, the machine including a ripping tyne that can be drawn through a body of soil, the tyne being operable to form a channel and the machine further being operable to deposit a treatment material in the base of the channel in a line along the channel and thereafter to close the channel.

27. A method for treating soil, the method comprising forming a channel in a body of soil and depositing treatment material in the base of the channel in a line along the channel and thereafter, closing the channel.