Experimental studies of the efficiency of incorporating green manure crops with a combined unit

Abstract

In recent years, many agricultural producers have begun to take care of environmental aspects and are gradually switching to the use of organic farming elements in the cultivation of agricultural crops, which include green fertilizers - siderates. Many experts recommend cutting the green mass of green manure crops with a mower and embedding it in the surface layer of the soil as mulch. However, not all termination methods are equally effective. In particular, when passing through a field with a rotary harrow’s green manure, the disc knives have to simultaneously perform two functions: chop and embed the vegetative mass of plants, which negatively affects the depth of processing. Therefore, the goal of our research is to develop a combined unit for mowing, crushing and embedding green mass of green manure crops into the soil. To achieve this, it is proposed to attach a plant chopper to the front of the tractor, which will mow and chop the plants, and two disc batteries installed on the rear hitch of the tractor will close the chopped organic mass. To determine the efficiency of using the proposed combined unit in different regions of the Republic of Tatarstan on different soils, comparative field tests were carried out, which consisted in determining the completeness of incorporation of green mass. The value of this indicator without using the mower on the front hitch was 65%, and with mowing and chopping - 95%, this is 1.5 times more than in the variant with the compared unit, which should have a favorable effect on the decomposition of the embedded organic matter.