In typical SE strip till systems as used for cotton, typically there is a big C shank ripper with some closing coulters with the planter attached to the back used in the spring as a one pass machine. This has limitations in how much fertilizer can be placed in a concentrated knife slot and plant directly and immediately over the top.

I have often thought that a possible strip till system for the south might be to run the ripper alone with no fertilizer at some time in the fall or winter. In these no-frost areas and soils there may be a real reason to run a ripper in line with the future crop path. Not going to get into that.

But by allowing the soil to firm up in the ripped strip, one could come back over the ripper slot with GPS in the spring with a Pluribus strip till unit on a mounted bar and pulling a Montag cart as we do in the north.

This would then give you the benefits of banding fertilizer and reduction in fertilizer applied (from the broadcast rate recommended by a soil test) of about 1/3 on P & K. One could also mix a bit of urea in with the spring P&K and then plant right over the in corporatedblended fertilized and cleanedup ripper strip.  Hopefully this would result in  a slight mound to plant on rather than a depression as is often the case when planting behind a ripper.

I think it is important to mix the fertilizer with soil rather than just dropping it on the surface if that was the original question.

Just a thought.

Jim at Dawn