Abstract
The present study evaluated the effect of different associations between coulters and fertilizer furrow openers on soil disturbance, furrow depth and width, according to forward speed. The study was conducted on a farm in Santa Maria (Brazil/RS), in soil classified as sandy loam Ultisol. The experiment consisted of 24 combinations of treatments with three replications in a 2×3×4 factorial experiment. The combinations were formed by the interaction of the factors including: two types of furrow openers (hoe and double-disc), three types of coulters (no-coulter, smooth and offset fluted) and four levels of forward speed (1.11, 1.67, 2.22 and 2.78 m/s). Soil elevation and soil disturbance area profiles were obtained with the use of a micro profilometer, and disturbance values were calculated with the aid of computer software program Auto Cad. The disturbance area was not affected by speed; it was greater when using the hoe opener, and in association with the offset fluted coulter. Speed was inversely proportional to the depth of the furrows made by the hoe opener. Furthermore, the hoe caused the greatest furrow width (0.26 m) in comparison with the double-disc (0.24 m). The use of different coulters associated with furrow openers increased this variable (0.23 m for the no-coulter condition, 0.25 m with smooth and 0.26 m with offset fluted). The use of coulters combined with furrow openers reduces soil swelling, in approximately 8% for the smooth and 20% for the offset fluted.
Highlights
The penetration and movement of a tool into the soil is an action that can be described by a composite behavior, since the soil is usually disturbed by some combination of cutting, shearing, compaction and flow, as the device is forced into the soil (Portella, 1983).The phenomena arising from the performance of soil tools can be divided into two actions: vertical soil displacement and soil disturbance area
The present study evaluated the effect of different associations between coulters and fertilizer furrow openers on soil disturbance, furrow depth and width, according to forward speed
Casão Júnior et al (2000) and Silveira et al (2011) evaluated the influence of operating speed on maize sowing with a row crop planter fitted with the hoe opener, and concluded that furrow depth was reduced by operating speed and that the soil disturbance area was increased with higher speed
Summary
The penetration and movement of a tool into the soil is an action that can be described by a composite behavior, since the soil is usually disturbed by some combination of cutting, shearing, compaction and flow, as the device is forced into the soil (Portella, 1983). Different representations of their areas can be surveyed by means of planimetric techniques and/or computer software programs, as recommended by Conte et al (2009), Santos et al (2010), Hasimu & Chen (2014) and Francetto et al (2015) Another important feature that results from the elevation area is swelling, which represents the increase in soil volume after the use of tools (Brandelero et al, 2014), due to the increase in the voids between solid particles. Casão Júnior et al (2000) and Silveira et al (2011) evaluated the influence of operating speed on maize sowing with a row crop planter fitted with the hoe opener, and concluded that furrow depth was reduced by operating speed and that the soil disturbance area was increased with higher speed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance, in relation to the disturbance of the soil, of different associations of coulters and fertilizer furrow openers of a row crop planter for the no-tillage system, under different forward speeds, in a red Ultisol soil
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