Over the last 200 years, the sowing of turnips has evolved considerably for farmers in the UK, moving from basic hand methods to advanced machinery guided by GPS. Learn how these changes improved efficiency and yield over time, shaping modern farming practices.
Although these early machines were called turnip sowers – the crops they grew were swedes.
Handsowing Era (Pre-Industrial Revolution):
During the pre-Industrial Revolution period, farmers would sow turnips in rows, albeit using primitive methods. Turnip sowing involved manually creating rows in the soil and scattering seeds by hand along these rows.
However, this process was rudimentary and lacked the precision and efficiency of later mechanical methods.
Hand sowing often resulted in uneven seed distribution and spacing, requiring considerable effort in subsequent thinning and cultivation to optimise turnip spacing which in turn affected growth and yield.
Horsedrawn Seed Drills (Late 18th Century to Early 20th Century):
The late 18th century saw the introduction of horsedrawn seed drills, a significant advancement in agricultural technology. These seed drills essentially dispensed a constant trickle of turnip seeds into the drill, ensuring more even distribution across the field.
The seed drills were equipped with a disc containing varying sizes of holes, allowing for different seed rates. Larger holes dispensed more seeds, while smaller holes resulted in less seed distribution.
Despite the mechanisation of seed dispensing seed drills provided, turnip crops were often overseeded, and just like hand sowing, the crop required a lot of thinning and hoeing to achieve optimal plant spacing and yield.
Tractor Non-Precision Era (Early to Mid-20th Century):
With the transition to tractor-based farming in the early to mid-20th century, turnip seed drills evolved to be able to fit on the back of a tractor. The downside was that the metering of seed was still not that precise – the seed drills used with horses had simply been adapted to fit onto a tractor.
Tractor-drawn seed drills continued to operate on similar principles as their horsedrawn predecessors, relying on gravity-fed mechanisms and adjustable seed plates to regulate seed distribution. However, the lack of advanced technology limited the precision of seeding, and manual thinning of turnip plants remained a common practice.
My relatives have told me about the large amounts of manual labour used for thinning turnips before the introduction of the precision sower. Many people would be out in turnip fields – even in bad weather – thinning and weeding the precious drills of turnips, before the weeds or turnips plants got too big.
Tractors and Precision Sowers (Mid-20th Century to Present):
From the mid-20th century onwards, advancements in agricultural machinery led to the development of precision sowers attached to tractors.
These modern seed drills could sow one individual seed at a time and space it at an exact depth. They used more sophisticated mechanisms, including seed meters and pneumatic systems, to achieve precise seed placement.
Most precision sowers used today are attached to tractors using GPS guidance systems to ensure accurate row alignment and seed distribution.
The next advancement in turnip sowing may involve further integration of precision technology, such as AI-driven systems for real-time soil analysis, fertiliser application and seed information. Innovations in robotic automation and drone technology could streamline operations, while sustainable practices like precision irrigation and crop monitoring may enhance yields using fewer resources.
