Soil mobilization in function of sowing speed in maize

Abstract

The sowing process can be affected by constructive differences related to the seeder, morphological and climatological conditions, and depending on the working speed used. The performance of the furrow opening components of the seeders is essential for obtaining good yields and productivity of maizecrops. This work aims to evaluate maize sowing with a Massey Ferguson tractor model MF 7370 with power of 125 kW pneumatic seeder-fertilizer as a function of its behavior at the different displacement speeds. The statistical design used was randomized blocks, with six displacement speeds, approximately (V1=2.0; V2=4.7; V3=6.5; V4=8.1; V5=10.3 and V6=12.3 km h-1), for the maize crop, with four replications, totaling 24 experimental plots. Soil mobilization parameters were evaluated: furrow width and depth, furrow mobilized area, and furrow opening angle. As agronomic traits were evaluated: the number of days for sowing emergence, initial and final sowing population, and grain yield. The mobilized area, angle, and depth of the furrowing fitted the quadratic regression model, while sulcus width had an increasing linear effect. Intermediate speeds V4 (8.1 km h-1) showed the highest values of the mobilized area and furrow depth and the lowest furrow angle value, whereas V3 (6.5 km h-1) presented the highest yield (8902 kg ha-1).