Tillage apparatus and improved blade therefor

A tillage apparatus for use with a towing vehicle for cutting a plurality of continuous narrow spaced furrows, comprising an elongated transverse tool bar supporting a transverse drive shaft, said tool bar being attachable to said vehicle and supporting a power means connected to said drive shaft, a plurality of tillage unit assemblies detachably mounted side by side on said drive shaft, each of said assemblies comprising an arm pivotally journalled at one end upon said transverse drive shaft and carrying a rotatable short transverse shaft at its other end, at least one tillage blade affixed to said short transverse shaft and rotatable therewith, each said tillage blade constituting a generally planar disc-like plate in substantial alignment with the direction of towing and having a generally circular cutting periphery with a plurality of substantially U-shaped circumferentially-spaced furrow-opening wear-resisting metallic elements astraddle said periphery, the two leg portions of each of said U-shaped elements being permanently affixed to respective sides of said blade adjacent its periphery, with the bight portion of each of said U-shaped elements extending transversely over said periphery, means biasing said arm downwardly to bring said blade into cutting contact with the ground and independently of the biasing of adjacent assemblies, and blade driving means interconnecting said drive shaft and said short shaft and providing for rotation of said blade upon actuation of said power means, whereby each said tillage blade cuts a continuous discreet narrow furrow as the apparatus is towed over the ground.