Farm Machinery and Equipment-I

Lesson 20. Study of miscellaneous tillage tools, rotary tillage tools, rotavators, stirring plow, auger plow, rotary hoes, Oscillating tools etc

Useful soil force in a forward rotating rotary tiller has to components.

• a) Longitudinal (forward component): Results in –ve draft.

• b) Upward component:  It reduces the implement gravitational force. It may even cause “Walk out” of the ground.

Power requirement (KWH)  =  TQ = 2II N X T

                                               K      60 X 1000

             Or HP  =          2II NT (Kgfm)

                                    60 X75

Factors affecting degree of pulverization and special energy requirement:

1) Bite length: increased bite length reduces pulverization.

2) Depth of cut.

3) Rotor speed

4) Blade shape

5) Soil type

6) Soil condition:

Hood & Shield:  Are used at rear and they affect the soil break-up significantly.

Combination implements: Chisel or other fixed tool attacked behind a rotary tiller.

(1)   Self – Propelled Garden Type e.g. Power Tillers:

• Width of plowing varies from 9 to 3”

• Power  6-15 H.P.

• Mostly ‘C’ type blades are used.

• ‘L’ type of blades are also better for trashy lands.

• Most popular rotary tillage tool is rotavotor.

Lister:

• It is a M.B. plow, which throw the soil in both directions.  In the centre furrow is formed in which crops are planted.  This is also available in disc type of furrow planters. This works well in dry soils, where soil crumbles (breaches).

Puddlers:

• Puddling is a most important operation for paddy growing areas.

• Refers tochurning the soil in presence of excess water by means of puddlers.

• Depth of standing water varies from 5 to 10 cm.

Advantages of puddling:

(1) It reduces leaching (percolation) of water because on settlement of puddling form impervious layer.

(2) To kill weeds by decomposition.

(3) To facilitate transplanting of paddy seedlings by making field soft.

Different types of puddlers:

(1) Hand operating puddlers e.g., paddy weeders.

(2) Animal drawn  - 3 to 4 ft width.

(3) Tractor drawn - width is 6 – 7 ft.

(a) Straight flat type

Rotary motion is better for churning and controls better water (percolation less). (With cultivator mixing is not thorough percolation is more)

(b) Rotating blade puddlers. Fig.

(c) Disc harrow puddlers (disc are cut types)

(d) Rotary tillers

(e) Rotavators.

(f) Pulverizing roller with cultivator cultivator opens the soil, pulverizing roller pulverizes the soil.  Power requirement is little higher than cultivators.

AUGER PLOUGH

Brief History:

• Plough tested with Ford – 3600 Tractor (4.7 HP)

• 3 bottom Auger plough

• Received by Dept. in June, 1997

• Width of coverage 120 cm.

• Tested for 60 hrs. under different field conditions.

• Covered a total area off 60 acres (including 40 acres paddy land).

• Performance compared with rotavator used for 6 ha only.

Rotating Auger Tests Conditions:

1. Ploughing the land with weeds & trash

2. Puddling the paddy fields.

3. Burying of green manure crop and cotton crop.

4. Ploughing of paddy and maize harvested fields for wheat seed bed.

Results of Rotating Auger Tests:

1. Width of coverage                    =          120 cm
2. Field speeds of operation          =          3 to 6 km/hr
3. AV output capacity                  =          0.4 to 0.5 ha/hr
4. Fuel consumption                    =          4.5 to 8.8 lit./hr
5. Depth of ploughing                  =          15 to 20 cm
6. AV draft                                 =          0.285 to 0.48 kg/cm²
7. Puddling was done effectively.
8. Green manure crop burying done perfectly
9. Green manure crop height       =          1.75 m
10. Cost of operation                   =          56.18/ha.

Results of Rotavator Tests:

1. Rotavator depth                      =          5 to 10 cm
2. Rotavator field capacity           =          0.2 ha/hr
3. Rotavator fuel consumption     =          4.0 lit./ha
4. 4.  Puddling was done effectively with rotavator.
5. Green manure crop burying was not upto the mark, coverage was about 50%
6. Cost of operation                   =          Rs. 83.75/ha

General conclusions:

• Basically both implements namely Rotating Auger Plough and rotavator were good.

• Rotating auger plough had an edge over a rotavator with regard to higher work output capacity, higher depth of penetration and effective burying of green manure crop.  Also lower cost of operation.

• In heavier clay soils, however both these implements required working in combination with a disc harrow to produce an accepted soil breakup use the disc harrow beforehand.