Farm Power And Machinery (1+1)

Cultivator

Cultivator is an implement for inter cultivation with laterally adjustable tines or discs to work between crop rows. This can be used for seed bed preparation and for sowing with seeding attachment. The times may have provision for vertical adjustments also.
The cultivator can be either Disc cultivator or Rotary cultivator or Tine cultivator.

Disc cultivator: It is a cultivator fitted with discs.
Rotary cultivator: It is a cultivator with tines or blades mounted on a power driven horizontal shaft as shown in Plate : 15.1.



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Plate : 15.1 Rotary cultivator

Tine cultivator: It is a cultivator fitted with tines having shovels. The rigid tine cultivator is shown in Plate : 15.2.



Plate : 15.2 Rigid tyne cultivator

The cultivator stirs the soil, and breaks the clods. The tines fitted on the frame of the cultivator comb the soil deeply in the field. A cultivator performs functions intermediate between those of plough and the harrow. Destruction of weeds is the primary function of a cultivator.
The following are a few important functions performed by a cultivator.

• Interculture the fields.
• Destroy the weeds in the field.
• Aerate the soil for proper growth of crops.
• Conserve moisture by preparing mulch on the surface.
• To sow seeds when it is provided with sowing attachments.
• To prevent surface evaporation and encourage rapid infiltration of rain water into the soil.