Types of Implements Used in Cultivation 
of Groves, Frequency of Cultiva¬ 
tion and Cost - 
L. H. Kramer, Lake Wales 
A. The types of implements common¬ 
ly used in cultivating citrus groves may 
be listed as follows: 
1. Plows— 
Walking: Turning. 
Tractor: Disc. 
2. Harrows and Cultivators— 
Disc (Tractor) : Eight-foot tan¬ 
dem, i o-foot doubles and sin¬ 
gles, 12-foot single. 
Acmes: Three-foot single (tree 
row work), 4-foot single (tree 
row work), 6 and 8-foot 2-horse 
(tree row work), 12-foot tract¬ 
or (middles), 16-foot tractor 
(middles). 
Planet Jr.: Five and 7-tooth us¬ 
ing three sweeps (optional) 
(tree row work and grass 
patches). 
Spring Tooth: Ten-foot tractor 
harrow, use in grassy middles 
in young grove where plowing 
would not be done during cer¬ 
tain seasons; careful operator 
required to keep from injuring 
roots. 
B. The frequency of cultivation is as 
follows: 
1. Plowing—Once yearly, probably in 
fall or early winter. 
2. Discing — Immediately following 
plowing or before if extremely heavy 
cover crop stands on ground. Ordinary 
cover crop in middles can be cut up and 
fairly well mixed with soil by using disc 
two ways; an exceptionally heavy cover 
crop, three ways. Use of acme after disc 
in fall work depends on condition of land. 
In case of heavy winter growth a light 
discing may be necessary in spring before 
acme will do work satisfactorily. Where 
trees are larger, requiring fertilizer to be 
spread some distance from them, the disc 
is probably best implement for working 
in. This applies especially to spring ap¬ 
plication where grass and weeds may be 
heavy. 
3. Harrowing—As a leveling opera¬ 
tion the frequency and amount of work 
depends on condition of ground. 
As a part of the active cultivating pro¬ 
gram, it depends and varies: 
(a) Upon moisture content of soil. 
(b) Presence of grass and weeds. 
IS 
