rotary plow

agriculture

Also known as: knife-tooth harrow, rotary tiller, rototiller

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June 17, 2026

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A rotary plow, also known as a rotary tiller, is an agricultural implement with rapidly revolving blades or hooked fingers used for turning and breaking up soil. It is a type of primary tillage equipment, designed to prepare the soil for planting by modifying its structure, killing weeds, and managing crop residues.1234

While the term "rotary plow" can also refer to a plow with a rotating element for clearing snow, in agriculture, it specifically denotes a machine that chops and throws soil using a power-driven rotating shaft with knives or tines. These machines can create good seedbeds but are less common in general farming due to their high cost and power requirements, though they are used with small garden tractors.1234

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agricultural technology
Primary tillage equipment
The rotary plow’s essential feature is a set of knives or tines rotated on a shaft by a power source. The knives chop the soil up and throw it against a hood that covers the knife set. These machines can create good seedbeds, but their high…
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The rotary plow’s essential feature is a set of knives or tines rotated on a shaft by a power source. The knives chop the soil up and throw it against a hood that covers the knife set. These machines can create good seedbeds, but their high…
Read More

harrow
…referred to as rototillers or rotary plows. (See also plow.)
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…referred to as rototillers or rotary plows. (See also plow.)
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plow
Plow types
Rotary plows or tillers (sometimes called rototillers) have curved cutting knives mounted on a horizontal power-driven shaft. The pronged rotary hoe, a plow used chiefly for seedbed and weed control, works well at high speed. Garden sizes cut swaths from about 0.3 to 0.8 metre…
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Rotary plows or tillers (sometimes called rototillers) have curved cutting knives mounted on a horizontal power-driven shaft. The pronged rotary hoe, a plow used chiefly for seedbed and weed control, works well at high speed. Garden sizes cut swaths from about 0.3 to 0.8 metre…
Read More