Meanings
- uncountableThe process of plowing an entire field to break up the soil prior to planting.
The seedbed is usually prepared by flatbreaking (broadcast plowing) or by bedding.
1944, Ernest Newton Fergus, Carsie Hammonds, Thomas Hayden Rogers, Southern Field Crops Management, page 6322 more examples
Where cotton follows small grain or a sod-forming crop, the practice of flatbreaking or plowing with a common turning plow in the fall is frequently followed.
1938, National Research Project on Reemployment Opportunities and Recent Changes in Industrial Techniques (U.S.), Studies of Changing Techniques and Employment in AgricultureFlatbreaking was considered essential when cotton followed a hay crop such as alfalfa (Medicago saliva L.) or in extremely weedy fields, particularly those with perennials such as johnsongrass, bermudagrass and "coco" or "nutgrass" (purple netsedge) (Brown and Ware, 1958).
1992, C. G. McWhorter, J. R. Abernathy, Weeds of cotton: characterization and control, →ISBN, page 127
Cite this entry
flatbreaking. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flatbreaking
“flatbreaking.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flatbreaking. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “flatbreaking,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flatbreaking.
Source: flatbreaking on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.