International Journal of Agricultural Engineering

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Comparative Performance of Mini Tractor Drawn Tillage Implements for Seed Bed Preparation under Sandy Loam Conditions of Middle Gujarat


Affiliations
1 Department of Farm Machinery Power Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Anand Agricultural University, GODHRA (GUJARAT), India
2 Department of Farm Machinery Power Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Anand Agricultural University, GODHRA (GUJARAT), India
     

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Tillage is an operation performed to obtain a desirable soil structure for a seedbed or ischolar_mainbed. Reducing tillage operations is a way of saving money and labour, but there are other factors which need to be considered before adopting a particular technique. Field tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of three types of mini tractor drawn tillage implements for seedbed preparation at College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Anand Agricultural University Godhra, district: Panchmahal. The mini tractor, Mahindra-Yuvraj (15 hp) and the matching tillage impalements i.e. cultivator, M.B. plough and rotavator were used for seedbed preparation by selecting four different treatments, namely; T1: Cross cultivation by cultivator, T2: M.B.Plough + cultivator, T3: 2 x rotavator and T4:1 x rotavator using a Randomized Block Design with five replications. The parameters evaluated were travel reduction (wheel slippage), draft, speed of operation, drawbar power, soil volume disturbed, fuel consumption, field efficiency and soil pulverization. Results indicated that single pass of rotavator (T4) was economical as well as it performed satisfactory for seed bed preparation in comparison to the other treatments with respect to the parameters evaluated. The hourly cost required for tillage operation under T1: Cross cultivation by cultivator, T2: M.B. plough + cultivator, T3: 2 x rotavator and T4: 1 x rotavator was rupees 311.25, 327.91, 410.54 and 280.17, respectively. The operational cost of single pass of rotavator (T4) was observed lowest. So, amongst all implements used for seed bed preparation, the mini tractor drawn rotavator performed very well from the point of efficiency, soil pulverization and total hourly cost.

Keywords

Seed Bed Preparation, Fuel Consumption, Draft, Wheel Slip, Soil Volume Disturbed, Field Efficiency, Soil Pulverization.
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  • Comparative Performance of Mini Tractor Drawn Tillage Implements for Seed Bed Preparation under Sandy Loam Conditions of Middle Gujarat

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Authors

K. L. Dabhi
Department of Farm Machinery Power Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Anand Agricultural University, GODHRA (GUJARAT), India
R. S. Godhani
Department of Farm Machinery Power Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Anand Agricultural University, GODHRA (GUJARAT), India
R. Swarnkar
Department of Farm Machinery Power Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Anand Agricultural University, GODHRA (GUJARAT), India

Abstract


Tillage is an operation performed to obtain a desirable soil structure for a seedbed or ischolar_mainbed. Reducing tillage operations is a way of saving money and labour, but there are other factors which need to be considered before adopting a particular technique. Field tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of three types of mini tractor drawn tillage implements for seedbed preparation at College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Anand Agricultural University Godhra, district: Panchmahal. The mini tractor, Mahindra-Yuvraj (15 hp) and the matching tillage impalements i.e. cultivator, M.B. plough and rotavator were used for seedbed preparation by selecting four different treatments, namely; T1: Cross cultivation by cultivator, T2: M.B.Plough + cultivator, T3: 2 x rotavator and T4:1 x rotavator using a Randomized Block Design with five replications. The parameters evaluated were travel reduction (wheel slippage), draft, speed of operation, drawbar power, soil volume disturbed, fuel consumption, field efficiency and soil pulverization. Results indicated that single pass of rotavator (T4) was economical as well as it performed satisfactory for seed bed preparation in comparison to the other treatments with respect to the parameters evaluated. The hourly cost required for tillage operation under T1: Cross cultivation by cultivator, T2: M.B. plough + cultivator, T3: 2 x rotavator and T4: 1 x rotavator was rupees 311.25, 327.91, 410.54 and 280.17, respectively. The operational cost of single pass of rotavator (T4) was observed lowest. So, amongst all implements used for seed bed preparation, the mini tractor drawn rotavator performed very well from the point of efficiency, soil pulverization and total hourly cost.

Keywords


Seed Bed Preparation, Fuel Consumption, Draft, Wheel Slip, Soil Volume Disturbed, Field Efficiency, Soil Pulverization.

References