Effect of Furrow Opener Design, Furrow Depth, Operating Speed on Soil Characteristics, Draft and Germination of Sugarcane

Abstract

The research was conducted at ICAR-Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, India, to study the effect of different types of furrow opener at different depth and speed of operation on soil penetration resistance, ridge height, specific draft, soil disturbance and germination percentage and to select the best furrow opener for establishment of sugarcane crop. The field experiment was conducted on a silt loam textured soil for three furrow openers viz. IISR furrower, IISR deep furrower and conventional type ridger operated at three average forward speed 0.26, 0.40 and 1.02 m s−1 and three average depths of 100, 150 and 250 mm. The parameters such as draft force, specific draft, soil penetration resistance, ridge height, soil disturbed and germination percentage were determined. Soil penetration resistance decreased significantly with increasing operational speeds of each furrow openers and increased significantly with depth of furrows. Soil disturbed and draft force requirements increased significantly with the increase in operation speed and depth of furrow in all the furrow openers. The significantly higher germination percentage after 30 and 45 DAP was observed with IISR deep furrow opener at 250 mm depth. The lowest soil penetration resistance, minimum specific draft and better germination were found with IISR deep furrow opener.