Coulter (agriculture)
Part of a plough that precedes the plowshare
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A coulter is a component of many ploughs that precedes the ploughshare and makes the first cut into the soil as the plough advances. It cuts a slit about 7 inches (18 cm) deep, ahead of the ploughshare.[1] Its most effective depth is determined by soil conditions.[2] (The name is sometimes spelled colter; the name is from the Latin 'culter' = 'knife'.)
History
Its earliest design consisted of a knife-like blade.[3][1] In 2011 an early medieval coulter was excavated from a site in Kent, England.[4][5] Coulters using a flat rotating disc began being used c. 1900.[6][1] Its advantage was a smoothly cut bank, and it sliced plant debris to the width of the furrow.[2]
Results
In his 1854 book, Henry Stephens used dynamometer measurements to conclude that a plough without a coulter took about the same amount of force to pull but using a coulter resulted in a much cleaner result.[1] It softens the soil, allowing the plough to undercut the furrow made by the coulter.[1]
