Wheat seed being sown on a conservation agriculture (CA) trial plot at CIMMYT’s headquarters at El Batán, Mexico, using a seeder for zero tillage. Here, four lines of seed are simultaneously into two narrow raised beds. Four rotating discs (not visible), cut through the crop residues and open up planting furrows in the soil. Inclined tubes deposit lines of seed into these, which are then covered by the four small press wheels visible at the back of the seeder. The slightly larger wheel at the rear right is the traction wheel, which transmits movement to the seeding apparatus. The worker walking behind the seeder checks that everything is functioning correctly and uses his stick up any large accumulations of crop residues.
Photo credit: CIMMYT.