Abstract
Conservation tillage is an energy efficient and low cost tillage system to improve soil environment compared with conventional tillage systems. However, the rice residue management becomes an “impossible to achieve” task due to high soil moisture content at harvest time and the thickness of rice straw. Disc type furrow openers are used for both seed drilling as well as straw cutting during no tillage sowing. A study was conducted to evaluate the draft requirement and straw cutting performances of different sized furrow openers in no-till paddy soil conditions. Double disc furrow opener was tested on an in-field traction bench for three working depths, i.e. 30, 60 and 90 mm, and three forwarding speeds, i.e. 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 m/s. The draft and vertical forces on the disc were recorded with load cells. These sensors were connected to a data acquisition system developed with hardware and software. The results revealed that the size of the furrow opener, operating depth and the forwarding speed had significant effects (P<0.05) on the horizontal and vertical forces, and the straw cutting performance. Mean values of the draft were 648.9, 737.2 and 784.6 N for the opener with diameters of 330, 450 and 600 mm respectively, and the vertical forces for similar openers were 904.7, 1553.9 and 1620.4 N, respectively. Furthermore, the mean straw cutting efficiencies for the double disc opener with diameters of 330, 450 and 600 mm were 39.36, 78.47 and 65.46%, respectively. The opener with 450 mm diameter provided higher straw cutting efficiency as compared to 600 mm diameter disc, while lowest straw cutting efficiency was observed with 330 mm diameter disc. The 450 mm diameter opener provided the highest straw cutting efficiency (88.6%) at 90 mm working depth and expressed optimum performance compared with other furrow openers.
Highlights
Tillage operations consume a major portion of energy for crop production to modify soil physical, structural and ecological status for a better production of crops [1]
The data represents the performance of the double disc furrow opener in no- till paddy soil
The results of study indicated that the draft force of double disc furrow openers was significantly (P
Summary
Tillage operations consume a major portion of energy for crop production to modify soil physical, structural and ecological status for a better production of crops [1]. A performance evaluation of different sized double disc furrow openers in term of draft force, vertical force, straw cutting efficiency and cutting phenomena under China’s rice-wheat cropping system in no till paddy field conditions still needs to be elucidated. The performance of the disc type furrow opener (residue cutting efficiency, draft and vertical forces) is significantly affected by the degree of soil compaction (shear strength and cone index), residue density, coulter type and rotational speed of the furrow opener [28]. Crop residue and tool interactions generally found in Chinese ricewheat rotations, double disc type furrow opener needs performance evaluation in paddy soil under different working conditions. 10.3 kg 19.96 kg 25.16 kg doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0119648.t001 investigate the draft, reaction forces and straw cutting efficiency of different sized double disc type furrow openers at variable depths and speeds in no-till paddy fields Value 1.28 g/cm3 1.7 g/cm Clay loam (21.30, 39.84 and 38.85% clay, silt and sand, respectively). 33.34% 12.67, 7.70, 8.55° at 0–2, 4–6 and 8–10 cm depth, respectively. 42.14, 52.06, 61.68 kPa at0 and 8–10 depth respectively. 682, 1280, 1000, 1185, 1212 kPa at 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 cm depth, respectively. 10.3 kg 19.96 kg 25.16 kg doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0119648.t001 investigate the draft, reaction forces and straw cutting efficiency of different sized double disc type furrow openers at variable depths and speeds in no-till paddy fields
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
