Planting

Planting Facts: Depending on the crop, planting involves varying degrees of mechanization. Farmworker planting duties vary widely.

Major components:

• Soil is typically prepared using tractors and implements; in some regions, farmworkers are involved in tilling, others not.
• Planting can be mechanized or done by hand. In mechanized planting a farmworker dumps seed into hopper of planter towed by tractor, then rides on the planter and brushes debris from seed spouts that discharge seeds into plowed furrow.
• Farmworkers may also plant roots and bulbs by hand, using hoe or trowel.
• Some fields are planted with transplanted seedlings, as in the photo above. Farmworkers place seedlings in rotating planting wheel while riding on power-drawn transplanter. Alternatively, with a fully automatic transplanter, workers follow the planter and correctly position the seedlings.
• Seedlings may also be hand-transplanted, using hand tools, such as shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, shears, and knives.
• Workers may also apply fertilizers.
• Farmworkers may construct trellises, repair fences and farm buildings, or participate in irrigation activities.
• Workers also frequently covers plants with sheet or caps of treated cloth or paper to protect them from weather.
• Farmworkers learn these types of jobs through short-term on-the-job training.