seed drill en · NOUN
Meanings
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A type of sowing machine.
In 1701, English inventor Jethro Tull built a prototype seed drill that planted a metered stream of seeds at the right depth and covered them with soil to optimize growth. The fact that the seed drill sowed seeds in regular straight rows also meant that a mechanical horse-drawn hoe (another invention by Tull) could be used to remove weeds from between the rows.
2005, Rick Kubik, How to Use Implements on Your Small-Scale Farm, page 43:American farmers began using the seed drill on a limited basis by 1775.
2002, R. Douglas Hurt, American Agriculture: A Brief History, Revised edition, page 102:Most Chinese seed-drills sow not only seed but also manure. The idea was almost as old as the seed-drill itself in Europe, and it was common in India too.
1984, Joseph Needham, Francesca Bray, Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 6, Part 2, page 270:Another major advancement in the field of agriculture was the seed drill. The seed drill helped the row farming of the Chinese.[…]The first seed drill was introduced into Europe 1600 years after the Chinese had improved upon their original design.
2003, Ron Shaw, Great Inventors and Inventions, page 17:Seeding with the Chinese seed drill requires higher than normal soil moisture compared to conventionally tilled wheat.
2004, D. S. Pathic, R. K. Shrestha, “11: No-Till in the Rice-Wheat System: An Experience from Nepal”, in Rattan Lal, Peter R. Hobbs, Norman Uphoff, editors, Sustainable Agriculture and the International Rice-Wheat System, page 215:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| seed-drill | alternative | lexicographic | |
| seed drills | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (10)
izh sejalka (type of sowing machine) · tr mibzer (type of sowing machine) · bg редосеялка (type of sowing machine) · pl siewnik (type of sowing machine) · fi kylvökone (type of sowing machine) · nrf sèm'rêsse (type of sowing machine) · izh kylvömašina (type of sowing machine) · ru сеялка (type of sowing machine) · tr ekim makinesi (type of sowing machine) · tr ekme makinesi (type of sowing machine)