Abstract
The main objective of this study is to develop a computer system for farm management and selection of required farm machinery to perform field operations in time for crops grown in rotations. Excel and Visual basic software were used to develop the program. The input data included 4 crops (sorghum, sesame, sunflower and cotton), 3 field operations (seedbed preparation, seeding, and weeding operations) and 3 farming systems (zero-tillage, conventional, and heavy machines farming systems). In addition, tractor and 6 implements (wide level disk, disk harrow, chisel plow, row crop planter, inter-row cultivator and sprayer) were also used. The system estimates the size and number of machine, power requirement and fuel consumption for the implements and operations. Verification showed that, the system has the ability to estimate the required parameters as soon as input data was entered. System validation indicated no significant differences between predicted results and actual data. The sensitivity analysis showed that, changing of input variables affects the output parameters and consequently selection is possible. The system was applied to estimate the required output variables in the mechanized rainfed agriculture in Gedarif, Sudan. It can be used for proper crop and machinery management as pre-season decision making with great confidence. Key words: Crop production, machine selection, farm management, computer system.
Highlights
Farm mechanization is the use of machines for production process
The mechanized farming system consists of large commercial farms 210 to 420 ha or more
The results showed very low Root mean square error (RMSE) (0.179), (1.095), and (0.1612) between the predicted and actual data for effective capacity, implements width (m) and fuel consumption (L/h), respectively (Table 2)
Summary
Farm mechanization is the use of machines for production process. Crop production involves sequence of actions, operations and other factors that affect production. A good farm management plan has to analyze the whole farming system for maximizing production and minimizing risks. The farm manager has to study the relationships between machines, weather and crop combinations. Management can more or less control machine capacity (machine width, speed, and field efficiency), as well as selection of implement, operation and crop. Computer systems can facilitate the examination of these relationships
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