flatbreaking

English

Noun

flatbreaking (uncountable)

1. The process of plowing an entire field to break up the soil prior to planting.
   • 1938, National Research Project on Reemployment Opportunities and Recent Changes in Industrial Techniques (U.S.), Studies of Changing Techniques and Employment in Agriculture:

     Where cotton follows small grain or a sod-forming crop, the practice of flatbreaking or plowing with a common turning plow in the fall is frequently followed.

   • 1944, Ernest Newton Fergus, Carsie Hammonds, Thomas Hayden Rogers, Southern Field Crops Management, page 632:

     The seedbed is usually prepared by flatbreaking (broadcast plowing) or by bedding.

   • 1992, C. G. McWhorter, J. R. Abernathy, Weeds of cotton: characterization and control, →ISBN, page 127:

     Flatbreaking was considered essential when cotton followed a hay crop such as alfalfa (Medicago saliva L.) or in extremely weedy fields, particularly those with perennials such as johnsongrass, bermudagrass and "coco" or "nutgrass" (purple netsedge) (Brown and Ware, 1958).