A seed drill is an agricultural device that sows seed by positioning it in the soil and burying it to a set depth, rather than scattering it by hand. Ancient Babylonians used primitive seed drills as early as 1400 BC, and China developed multi-tube iron seed drills by the 2nd century BC; in Europe, Camillo Torello received the first known patent for one from the Venetian Senate in 1566, but the design most influential on modern farming is the one the English agriculturist Jethro Tull refined in 1701. Seed drills raised crop yields as much as eightfold over hand broadcasting while cutting seed waste and labor, making them a critical part of the British Agricultural Revolution.
Facts
Patent or First-Use DateEarliest known European seed-drill patent, granted by the Venetian Senate to Camillo Torello; exact day not recorded. It predates Jethro Tull's more historically influential 1701 refinement, recorded separately as this entity's year fact. SignificanceBy placing and spacing seed precisely instead of scattering it by hand, the seed drill can raise the ratio of harvested seed to planted seed by as much as eightfold, cutting both waste and labor. 1 Connections
In Field
Source Seed Drill (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Invented By
Jethro Tull, Engineers Refined the seed drill design most influential on modern farming in 1701; earlier seed drills already existed in ancient Babylon, China and 1566 Venice.
Sources
1. Seed Drill (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationHistory section
The first known European seed drill was attributed to Camillo Torello and patented by the Venetian Senate in 1566.
Lead section
The use of a seed drill can improve the ratio of crop yield (seeds harvested per seed planted) by as much as eight times while also saving time and labor.
In Field: Mechanical Engineering, Categories
Agricultural machinery
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