SeedChaser: Vertical soil tillage distribution model

Knowledge of the vertical distribution of surface residues, chemicals, or seeds following tillage operations is of great importance to a wide variety of soil research areas. This paper describes a 1D empirical vertical soil tillage distribution model with 1 cm grid spacing (SeedChaser) that predicts vertical redistribution of weed seeds following user selected (a) sequences of tillage implements, and (b) initial seed distribution values. Results of this model are particularly suited for weed seed emergence modeling. However, the model can be adapted easily to any surface broadcasted agrochemical or incorporated residues. The present model can handle up to 20 passes of user selected sequences of 16 different implements. The majority of prior models examined only the impact of a more limited list of implements at much larger depth intervals, which reduced the predictability of fine-scale vertical movement that may be needed for simulating movements of seeds or chemical granules. SeedChaser consolidates the results from these previous models along with new data on conservation tillage implements into a prediction tool that would have applications both in weed science, as well as other soil research areas. SeedChaser was developed in JAVA and is publicly available via the Internet.