Hard pan, plow pan, stratified soils and large land leveling cuts form barriers beneath the soil surface that impede water penetration and drainage and restrict root growth. These are often below a depth of 24 inches. Ripping provides remedial treatment. A shank up to five inches wide and eight feet long (deep) works like a long vertical knife attached to a tractor. When it is used in very hard, rock-type soil, it fractures and breaks it up so water and roots are uninhibited in moving downward. The harder and dryer the soil, the greater the fracturing. Depending on the makeup of the soil, the fracture may never reseal.