Packer wheel assembly for tillage apparatus

In a tillage unit having a forwardly positioned cutter wheel for cutting a furrow in the earth surface as the unit advances and a rigid vertically extending seed tube, a packer wheel assembly, comprising:

• bracket means including a pair of spaced generally horizontal L-shaped arms equally offset to opposite sides of the furrow, said arms being composed of fore-and-aft extending opposed portions and transversely extending rear end portions extending inwardly from the respective fore-and-aft portions toward one another;
• a thin packer wheel mounted on said bracket means between the fore-and-aft extending portions and forward of the rear end portions of said arms and centrally located with respect thereto so as to track said cutter wheel and to ride in the furrow cut thereby;
• pivot means connected between the front portion of each of said arms and said tube to provide pivoting of said arms about a transverse horizontal axis;
• a brace extending between the arms closely adjacent the aforesaid horizontal axis and engageable with the tube to thereby serve as pivot stop means between said pair of arms and said tube for limiting downward movement of said arms;
• and
• a transverse spray shield in fore-and-aft alignment with the tube and wheel extending between and connecting the rear end portions of said arms.