Energy expenditure measured for various tillage practices for various speeds of operation at different depths of cut in two different soil types

Abstract

Tillage involves a lot of energy expenditure, generally in terms of fuel consumed by the tractor. The fuel consumption for the different tillage practices needs to be quantified and this paper presents quantification for the same. The experiment was carried out at the fields of two different soil types viz. sandy loam (S1) and silty loam (S2). Six tillage practices, designated as P1, P2, P3, P4, P5 and P6, were undertaken in the present study. The six practices were one pass of harrow-cultivator-planker combination (P1), two passes of harrow-cultivator-planker combinations (P2), one pass of rotavator (P3), two passes of rotavator (P4), one pass of spading tillage machine (P5) and two passes of spading tillage machine (P6). Different implements have their own, i.e. different recommended speeds and depths of operation. For experimental study, two different depth of cut ranges, designated as D1 & D2 and two forward velocity ranges, designated as V1 & V2, suitable to every implement, were selected. The conventional tillage practices consumed more fuel and time as compared to multi-powered tillage tools practices but were found to move considerable volume of soil and shows lower rate of fuel consumption per unit of soil moved than other practices, whereas, rotavator and spading machine takes lesser time and fuel for tillage operation.