Performance Evaluation of Manually Operated Mulch Laying Machine on Different Soil Conditions

Abstract

A machine with manual operation for mulch-laying machine with apunching arrangement was developed, and its performance was assessedat three different mulch paper thicknesses (15 m, 20 m and 25 m), threedifferent disc angles (35 degrees, 40 degrees, and 45 degrees), threedifferent punch spacings (250 mm, 500 mm, and 1000 mm), and threedifferent forward speeds (1.3 km/h, 1.5 km/h, 1.7 km/h) to investigate theireffects on field capacity, effective field efficiency, and punching efficiency.Utilizing randomised block design and response surface methods, theexperimental plan for optimization was created. All of the independentvariables’ combined effects on the dependent variables were found to bestatistically significant. The influence of operating speed and mulch paperthickness was found to be the most significant on the dependent variable.The effective field capacity and field efficiency increased from 0.11 ha/hto 0.19 ha/h and 72.04 percent to 89.51 percent, respectively, by increasingmulch paper thickness from 15 µm to 25 µm and operating speed from1.3 km/h to 1.7 km/h, whereas punching efficiency fell from 85.18 percentto 84.40 percent. Mulch paper of 15 µm and a disc angle value of 40degrees were optimised from the independent factors that were chosen foroptimal soil covering over the laid plastic mulch sheet. Punching efficiencywas maximised with performance optimised at 500 mm punch spacing.Additionally, the machine operated more efficiently at 1.5 km/h.