Plow is a tool that is used to prepare soil for planting. The term plow is also used to refer to other types of equipment, such as vehicles used to clear snow from streets and machines that dig trenches for laying cables. This article discusses only plows used in farming.
A plow digs into the ground and pushes, cuts, and lifts the soil to break it up. Much of the food in the world comes from crops that have been grown in plowed fields and from food-producing animals that feed on such crops.
Farmers till (plow) the soil for many reasons. For example, plowing reduces the hardness of the upper 6 to 16 inches (15 to 41 centimeters) of the ground, making seed planting easier. Tillage also aids planting by covering up the residue (remains) of the previous crop and by killing weeds and insects. In addition, air movement into the ground increases, and oxygen can act more quickly on organic matter in the soil to speed the release of plant nutrients. Plants growing in the soil can also take in more oxygen through their roots and thus grow more rapidly.
