Planters performance during a very Short Rotation Coppice planting

Abstract

Very Short Rotation Coppice (vSRC) cultivation can become a good economy source for farmers, in addition to producing substantial amount of wood and benefits to society. Over the years, improved cropping and harvesting systems have been developed, which offer a good energy balance and acceptable economic results. Little research has been done in planting operations, where the mechanization is again at experimental level. The goal of the study is to evaluate the working rate and the working quality of 6 planters used for vSRC planting with different forestry species (poplar, willow and black locust). The results showed that, the working rate of the planters is low (about 0.6 ha h−1) independently by the planter type used, and forestry species chosen. Furthermore, it was highlighted the necessity of setting up a specific planting machine equipped with automatic feed devices and a large surface for propagation material storages, in order to increase the working rate of vSRC planting operations.