Search Results

Investigations were carried out on five different soils at different moisture conditions. Soil resistance was measured with a hydraulic dynamograph on a single bottom plough operated with a tractor at 20-22 cm depth with a width of 60 cm. On light soils (sandy and loess soils) the soil resistance to ploughing was relatively small. The amplitude of instantaneous soil resistance measured from the mean value was also small. In the heavy loam soils, these variations were high. The highest instantaneous as well as the total soil resistance were found on the soil made of limy rock soil with a low organic matter. The magnitude of instantaneous soil resistance increased considerably with soil drying. The tillage tools must, therefore, overcome this short duration of high soil resistance. Such factors should be taken into consideration while designing new tillage tools.

Tillage is an importantcomponent of crop production system and may be defined as any mechanical manipulation of soil to improve its appearance and physical condition for crop production. The factors affecting the energy requirement by a tillage tools include initial soil conditions, tool shape, and manner of tool movement in the soil and the desired final soil conditions. Soil bin facilities have generally been used to evaluate soil forces and compare energy required by tillage tools. Commonly used cultivator sweeps in the Canadian Prairies were tested in the soil bin to evaluate their suitability on energy demand. The draft of the sweeps was found to be a function of the depth and speed of operation. Tool shape plays an important role in the energy demand. The smooth sweep with low soil lifting characteristics was found to be the most suitable under these test conditions.