Tillage intensity is not always suited to a one-size-fits-all approach. Soil conditions can vary significantly within the same field, with lighter and heavier areas requiring different levels of cultivation intensity.
To better understand these differences, Väderstad conducted a 2024-2025 field study in Denmark using variable tillage controlled by prescription mapping. The study investigated how different tillage intensities affected yield, fuel consumption and field efficiency under varying soil conditions.
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Tillage plays an important role in residue management, seedbed preparation and creating conditions for strong root development. However, soil conditions often vary within the same field, meaning that the same cultivation intensity may not be needed everywhere.
Applying more tillage than necessary can increase fuel consumption and reduce field efficiency without delivering additional agronomic benefit. Equally, insufficient tillage in more demanding conditions can limit the ability to create an optimal seedbed environment.
Variable tillage offers an opportunity to match cultivation intensity to the needs of different soil zones within the field.
The objective of the study was to visualise the value of adapting tillage intensity to varying soil conditions using prescription mapping and variable tillage technology. To investigate this, the study focused on three practical questions:
The field study was conducted during 2024–2025 on a 50-hectare on-farm site in Denmark as a collaboration between Väderstad and AGCO Valtra agronomists.
A Väderstad TopDown 400 E-Services cultivator and a Valtra Q305 tractor were used to evaluate how different tillage intensities affected yield, fuel consumption and field efficiency.
The study compared four tillage intensity levels and used prescription mapping to automatically adjust the cultivation setup across the field. Each treatment was repeated in 32-metre parcels across both lighter and heavier soil zones. Automatic adjustment through prescription mapping ensured that the selected intensity level was applied consistently throughout the trial.
The field consisted of mixed soil types, including lighter sandy loam areas and heavier clay loam areas.
Four tillage intensity levels were evaluated in the study.
Intensity |
Disc depth |
Tine depth |
Packer pressure |
| Low | 5 cm | 10 cm | -50% |
| Medium | 10 cm | 15 cm | - |
| High | 10 cm | 25 cm | - |
| Very high | 12 cm | 25 cm | +35% |
The study evaluated three key metrics: yield level, fuel consumption and field efficiency. These measurements were used to compare the effect of different tillage intensity levels across lighter and heavier soil conditions.
The study showed clear differences in how lighter and heavier soils responded to different tillage intensity levels. The results demonstrated that the optimum tillage intensity depended on soil conditions rather than a fixed setting across the entire field.
In the heavier soil area, yield increased as tillage intensity increased. In the lighter soil area, similar yield levels could be achieved with lower tillage intensity. The study also showed that reducing tillage intensity where soil conditions allowed lowered fuel consumption and increased field efficiency.
The study showed clear operational differences between the tested tillage intensity levels.
Reducing tillage intensity from high to medium lowered fuel consumption by 5.6 l/ha. In the lighter soil areas, field efficiency increased by more than 1 hectare per hour when tillage intensity was reduced.
These findings show that adapting tillage intensity to soil conditions can help optimise machine performance while avoiding unnecessary cultivation intensity where lower levels are sufficient.
In the heavier clay loam area, tillage intensity played an important role in achieving full yield potential. The study showed that the highest yield levels were reached at the very high intensity setting.
The results also highlighted the importance of packer pressure in heavier soils. Higher packer pressure contributed to improved performance, while insufficient packer pressure limited yield potential compared with the highest intensity treatment.
These findings indicate that heavier soils may require a more intensive cultivation approach to reach full yield potential under the tested conditions.
The lighter sandy loam area responded differently. Here, the study showed that medium tillage intensity was sufficient to reach the full yield potential of 12 t/ha. Increasing tillage intensity beyond this level did not improve yield.
The results also highlighted the importance of matching packer pressure to soil conditions. In the lighter soil area, the highest packer pressure setting limited yield compared with lower intensity treatments.
These findings demonstrate that increasing cultivation intensity does not automatically lead to improved agronomic results. Under the conditions of this study, lower tillage intensity achieved the same yield outcome while requiring less cultivation effort.
The findings show that tillage intensity should be adapted to soil conditions rather than applied uniformly across an entire field.
In the heavier soil area, higher tillage intensity and increased packer pressure were needed to reach the full yield potential. In the lighter soil area, lower tillage intensity achieved the same yield outcome while requiring less fuel and increasing field efficiency.
The study supports a practical cultivation principle: use as little tillage intensity as possible, but as much as necessary. Matching tillage intensity to soil conditions can help farmers achieve the required agronomic outcome while avoiding unnecessary cultivation effort.
Prescription mapping and variable tillage provide one way of applying this principle across fields where soil conditions vary significantly.
The TopDown 300-700 is a high-intensity multipurpose cultivator, performing both full-scale shallow cultivation and deep cultivation in a single pass. By adapting to different field conditions, it is a highly versatile tool with unmatched performance. The TopDown can reduce passes, preserve ground moisture, increase capacity and lower costs per acre.
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