Structural ways to reduce the damage of planting potatoes bulbs when using a chain-spoon planting machine

Abstract

The paper presents the theoretical basis for assessing the impact of damage to planting bulbs on yield. It gives the data on the study of the amount of damage to potato bulbs by chain-spoon planting apparatus and discusses the ways to reduce them. Studies have shown that when installing a guide in the case of the planting machine, productivity increases up to 10 bulbs per second and potato bulbs are damaged within the agrotechnical requirements, while the speed of the potato planter increases by 35 % (up to 10,8 km/h). Analysis of the results shows the need to identify for the potato planter machines working bodies and technological processes, causing less damage to the planting material. Special attention should be paid to reducing the level of severe external damage to bulbs (cracks, crushing, cutting). The aim of the work is to improve the quality of the process of planting potato tubers with the substantiation of the optimal parameters of the chain-spoon planting apparatus. During the studies it was found that with an increase in the frequency of planting, the number of damages to bulbs increases, and an increase in the frequency of planting over 5,7 bulbs per second in both fractions leads to a sharp increase in the number of damages to bulbs. To solve the problem of reducing the number of damaged potato bulbs, a structural way to solve the problem was proposed. It consists in installing a guide for bulbs, which allows reducing damage to potato bulbs to the limits of agrotechnical requirements.