1"/2" Wavy or Fluted No-Til coulters on planter?

One inch "bubble" coulter is my choice, as it has a straight sharp cutting edge all the way around and throws minimal dirt out of the seed trench. The 2 inch wave coulters at faster speeds throw out a lot of dirt.

Bubble coulter...

I prefer a flat plow coulter out front. I used it to cut stover and straw so the trash whippers could spread stuff easily and the opening disks wouldn't be hairpinning straw or stover to affect the seed placement. I don't like the supposed no till coulters with the wide waves, they too easily turn into packing and stomping rollers when the dirt is a little damp so they make a lowered packed place for the seed, just the opposite of what the seed needs. In dry dirt they probably do till up a narrow strip, but I've rarely planted in dirt that dry.

Gerald J.

     The #2 wavy is aggressive, planting beans after wheat is usually dry in our area of Illinois. The plan is to conserve soil moisture for seed germination, but using a reduced "flinging" coulter is definitely what you are looking for.

I prefer the 1" wave, it minimizes the throwing of dirt, and the story I've heard on the bubble style is that in some soils it will cause sidewall compaction since the bubble pushes the soil to the side.

Only one I've ever used is the 2 inch, but I've really liked it. Loosens up the soil really well for good soil to seed contact. Darrel

coulter type choice depends on soil type.  The more clay type the fluted is best - on the loam soil the bubble works well.  We stress the most important addition is the soil control strips as used by the Sunflower openers on their drills.  We make our own with strips welded to the front divider and running alongside the openers.  This prevents soil blow out.