Tillage Technology Research Articles

Review on the Crop Straw Utilization Technology of China

China is an large agricultural country, which grain output has been among the highest in the world. In recent years, agricultural waste caused by high grain yield has attracted more and more attention. As one of the main agricultural waste, the total straw amount of China has reached 870 million tons by year of 2019, and the straw utilization amount has reached 730 million tons, which indicates enormous strains on the environment. In China, straw burning is strictly forbidden by local governments, so it is mostly utilized by returning the field, making manure, fodder, fuel, base stock or raw material. The five utilization ways separately make up 61.3%, 5.3%, 14.9%, 10.3%, 0.8%, 1.0% of the total share. To promote better utilization of straw, this paper made a comprehensive review of the main utilization technologies in China by the method of literature research. According to the research, the utilization technologies of straw mainly include corn straw deep tillage technology, cotton straw deep-turning technology, wheat straw mulching-corn straw rotating tillage technology, less no-tillage straw mulching technology, rice-wheat (or rape) straw crushing returning rotary tillage technology, straw rapid maturing, straw-forage-fertilizer planting and raising combination technology, straw-biogas-fertilizer energy ecological technology, straw-bacteria-fertilizer substrate utilization technology, straw-carbon-fertilizer returning and soil improvement technology. All these utilization have promoted the rapid development of the comprehensive utilization of straw in China, and enlightened further development of straw utilization.

АНАЛИЗ ЗАРУБЕЖНЫХ НАУЧНЫХ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЙ ВЛИЯНИЯ РЕСУРСОСБЕРЕГАЮЩИХ ТЕХНОЛОГИЙ ОБРАБОТКИ ПОЧВЫ НА ПРОДУКТИВНОСТЬ СЕЛЬСКОХОЗЯЙСТВЕННЫХ КУЛЬТУР И ПОКАЗАТЕЛИ ПОЧВЕННОГО ПЛОДОРОДИЯ

The analysis of foreign scientific research on resource-saving tillage technologies is carried out. The accumulated experience of using various technologies of basic soil cultivation in the cultivation of agricultural crops in various soil and climatic conditions, among which strip-till occupies a special place, has been studied. As a result of the analysis, it was found that the use of deep strip tillage improves the conditions for the absorption of nutrients, better growth and development of plants and, as a result, an increase in yields, especially in adverse weather conditions. In addition, as a result of the use of the studied types of soil cultivation (zero and strip), which increase the efficiency of nitrogen accumulation in the soil and its use by plants, it is possible to reduce emissions of nitrous oxide when growing crops. It has been established that resource-saving soil cultivation technologies are an effective method of pest control in sustainable agriculture, which in turn ensures better plant growth and development, as well as an increase in the quality of the products obtained. Modern methods of soil cultivation provide an increase in crop yields, protection of soil from erosion and loss of organic matter reserves. It was concluded that strip-till soil cultivation is becoming more and more widespread and has a number of advantages due to resource saving, improvement of soil water regime and optimization of the timing of agrotechnical measures. The use of this technology helps to improve plant nutrition, increase crop yields, improve the water-physical properties of the soil, reduce nitrous oxide emissions into the atmosphere, and reduce erosion hazard.

Justification of the optimal annual load on the tractor providing for its parameters stress on the formed crop

The article presents the results of a study to identify the optimal value of the annual load on one tractor using direct sowing technology. The optimal annual load on one tractor is directly associated with the power provision to agriculture and, indirectly, with its productivity. The article analyzes the dependence of the annual tractor load in ploughland per ha on various factors of the tractor-operator-instrument-fieldsoil-crop system: on tractor parameters; unit; environment and it is concluded that the optimal annual load on one tractor depends on them. The method of choosing various agricultural enterprises power supply should be connected with the natural and climatic conditions of their production activities, accepted technologies for cultivating crops, soil types, field sizes, etc. It was revealed that in Russia the optimal energy supply of agriculture with the power of tractor engines, using the zero tillage technology, is in the range from 2.4 to 2.8 hp/ha.

Influence of technology cognition and risk perception on the willingness to adopt soil and water conservation tillage technologies and its intergenerational differences

Influence of technology cognition and risk perception on the willingness to adopt soil and water conservation tillage technologies and its intergenerational differences

Zero tillage technology of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.): a review in perspective of Nepal

Zero tillage technology of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.): a review in perspective of Nepal

The Growth and Yield of Sweet Corn under Minimum Tillage Technology by Using Various Doses of Herbicide Mixtures of Glyphosate and 2,4-D

Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide for minimum tillage technology because it effectively kills broadleaf and grass weeds. Mixing glyphosate with other herbicide that has a different mechanism, such as 2,4-D may increase control efficacy and prevent the evolved of resistant weeds. Research was conducted to obtain the effective dose of glyphosate and 2,4-D mixtures and to evaluate the effect of the herbicide mixtures on the growth rate and yield of sweet corn. Depression on summed dominance ratios (SDR) and increased number of dominant weeds were observed after the application of glyphosate and 2,4-d mixtures. The interaction of the herbicide mixtures was observed optimum at the doses of glyphosate and 2,4-D of 1.94 and 1.5 L ha-1, respectively, with maximum of net assimilation rates (NAR) at 4-6 weeks after planting of 0.0003617 g cm-2 days-1. Plant growth rates (PGR) and NAR were observed maximum by a single treatment of glyphosate at a dose of 1.5 L ha-1 which were 2.23614 and 2.23607813 g cm-2 days-1, respectively. Yield of sweet corn observed as fresh-weight of cobs was found maximum of 129.41 g with a single treatment of glyphosate at 2,018 L ha-1.

The rationale for the layout of working bodies of the wide-reach flat cutter for the tractor of traction class 8 by the criteria of material consumption and rolling resistance

The article describes the current development state of equipment and mechanical tillage technology. It is revealed that creation of tillage tool drags for the modern tractors of high traction class, is associated with certain difficulties caused by the fact that they must be wide, hinged or trailed and they must match the requirements of regulatory documentation, as well as fully ensure the implementation of agrotechnical requirements for technological processes. We conducted laboratory and field studies in order to obtain quantitative characteristics of changes in the rolling resistance of tractors from their working conditions in the soil environment. It is established that a working body operating in the free cutting mode has the minimum rolling resistance, and the maximum rolling resistance is obtained in the mode of blocked cutting at equal speeds. The technique proposed in the article allows a reasonable approach to the choice of the scheme of a wide-reach flat cutter for the tractor of traction class 8 according to the criteria of metal consumption and rolling resistance.

RATIONALE FOR THE NEEDLE DISC DESIGN OF A ROTARY HARROW WITH THE ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE BODY OF A BIOLOGICAL ANALOGUE

Modern agricultural production persistently requires solving the problems of increasing crop yields, preserving the effective and potential soil fertility on the basis of resource-saving soil-protective technologies that provide complex mechanization of all technological operations with a significant reduction of energy costs. Of particular relevance is the problem of reducing or completely eliminating the proportion of manual labor when performing the most time-consuming technological operations. A significant reserve for improving the efficiency of land use, increasing the yield of crops is the reduction of time and a significant improvement in the quality of technological operations of tillage. Known tools with needle working bodies, intended for early spring, pre-sowing and harvesting small surface loosening of stubble background in areas with soils that are prone to wind erosion, are inefficient, and increasing their speed leads to a sharp decrease in quality. Crop productivity is the result of the interaction of many factors and conditions, the most important of which are: soil fertility, nature of plants, soil and climatic conditions and mechanized tillage technology. The current level of crop culture requires the search for new resource-saving technologies and machines that fully meet the agrobiological requirements of cultivated plants. In this regard, there is a need to rationalize the use of surface tillage, increase their fertility, as well as protection against erosion. The results of researches of the designs of machines and technologies of surface tillage showed that on the slope lands the most promising is the reception of tillage with leveling of the surface and creation of a micro-cellular structure of the bottom of the loosened layer with fulfillment of all agrotechnical requirements. On the basis of the analysis of the body of the hedgehog, the elements of functional identification with the rotary harrow disc needle are substantiated. The possibility of adopting the needle control mechanism structure as a biological analogue of the mechanism of elastic attachment of needles to the disc of the harrow has been proved. The design of a disk and variants of execution of needles is offered.

Effect of adoption of sustainable crop production systems on farm economics

This study uses farm models to analyze the effect of farm size on farm-level costs of adoption of reduced soil cultivation systems. In an empirical study in the Kulunda Steppe in Russia, we examine the farm-level economics of three crop cultivation technologies: old Soviet intensive tillage technology (OS), modified Soviet reduced-tillage technology (MS), and modern Canadian no-till technology (MC). We consider economies of size by considering three farm sizes (small = 500 ha, medium = 5000 ha, and large = 15,000 ha). Based on the general approach to cost and activity accounting, we sequentially compute gross cost–benefit measurement to assess the economic performance of the different systems. The study utilizes two data sources: (1) experts’ estimates regarding the input requirements and yield impacts of reduced-tillage systems in the marginal ecosystem of the Kulunda Steppe and (2) market prices in 2014 and 2015. According to the model calculations, OS is inferior to MC and MS tillage systems in all farm sizes if we adopt a medium- to long-term perspective and consider residual income. If we adopt a very short-term perspective and consider only the difference between sales and direct costs, the MC tillage system would rank first across all modeled farm sizes. However, because farms in the Kulunda Steppe are heterogeneous, our results cannot replace management decisions based on farm-specific calculations that consider the conditions of the respective farm.

Digital technology in agriculture

The article discusses the possibility of improving the technology of tillage, fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation through the integrated introduction of digital technologies and intellectual-advising control systems of agricultural machines. In Saratov State Vavilov Agrarian University conducted research of control systems of agricultural machinery, providing remote control operation, collecting and transmitting information on the status of implementation of technological operations, based on the use of computer technology. A robotic platform is being developed for the use of attachments that perform technological operations of fertilization and irrigation on the basis of the principle of "precision farming". The control system of the robotic irrigation complex is being improved.

Fungicidal activity of seed disinfectants against root rot of wheat in various types of soils

We studied the efficacy of seed treatment with a variety of fungicides for control of root rot of wheat in different soil types. The effectiveness of various doses of the preparation on the basis of thiram (TMTD and TMTD-plus) and triazole containing Dividend Star, SC has been compared under the conditions of the Southern Urals in typical soils of the region (dark chestnut, southern chernozem, common chernozem). It is revealed that the effectiveness of thiram containing preparations in moderate doses (2.0–2.5 l/t for TMTD-plus and 3.0 l/t for TMTD) is higher on the dark-chestnut soils than on Chernozem. The biological efficiency of the Dividend Star does not depend on the type of soil. We compared the five pesticides with active substances from different chemical classes: Celest Top (thiamethoxam + difenoconazole + fludioxonil), Scenic Combi (clothianidin + fluoxastrobin + prothioconazole + tebuconazole), Maxim (fludioxonil), TMTD-plus (thiram), Kinto Duo (triticonazole + prochloraz) and Dividend Star (difenoconazole + cyproconazole) at the different tillage technologies under the non black soil region conditions. The effectiveness of all preparations decreases significantly at the no-till technology compared to the plowing. Most effective in plowing were Kinto Duo, Celest Top and TMTD-plus, and in zero-till – Celest Top and Scenic Combi.

Pros and cons of no-till technology in a long-term field experiment on sod-podzolic soil

In a ten-year field experiment the technologies of conventional tillage (Plowing) and resource- and soil-saving treatment (No-till and Mini-till) were compared. The pros and cons of the No-tillage in the condition of temperate humid zone on the sod-podzolic soil are shown. The cons are: significant increase of soil density, lower crop biomass, higher weed infestation, an increase of pesticides application. The pros are increased soil moisture storage capacity, potential stability of cereal crop yield and economic benefits on grain production.

Technology of the main tillage of the abandoned fields

The lands that turned out to be unclaimed for agrarian production pass into the category of waste, due to the spread of weeds on them. At the first stage, such lands pass through a wild grass stage with typical weed-field vegetation, where annual dicotyledons predominate, subsequently these plants are supplanted by perennial grasses, overgrown with shrubs and tree growth, and waste lands become uncultivated deposits. The presence of vegetation cover with a height of 1-1.7 m not only complicates the conduct of mechanical tillage, but also requires large amounts of energy. On lands left out of agricultural use, there is a noticeable change in soil properties. All agrochemical parameters of deposits have a lower value than arable land. On abandoned fields, along with a decrease in nutrients in the soil, there is a change in water and air conditions, which complicates the process of tilling. Entering abandoned fields in crop rotation for the production of agricultural products is an important economic problem of the day. The aim of the work is to develop the technology of the main tillage and dump plow for its implementation, ensuring the incorporation of tall plants in abandoned fields at low energy costs and high agrotechnical indicators.

Influence of soil-protective technologies on the characteristics of the soils of hop plants

It is known that one of the main and complex indicators of the soil is the density of its composition (volume mass). The widespread introduction of new technologies of tillage in our country only increases interest in the values of density in the new conditions. At the same time, soil hardness is also an important parameter characterizing agrophysical conditions of plant growth. We believe that research on the diagnosis of these soil parameters is not enough, so we have conducted research in this area. Traditional methods of tillage do not have a significant compacting effect in the surface layer. Most of the acquired parameters of the additional density are characterized by us as optimal. Only in some cases of ploughing the soil density decreased to 0.7…0.99 g / cm3. This indicates an excessively friable state. Processing of fields by "no-till" (zero) type leads to an increase of values of density of addition of the soil to 0.94…1.25 g / cm3. Hardness values also increased and reached 22.8 kgf / cm2 (2.24 MPa). We see the reason for this phenomenon in the inevitability of the use of heavy-duty tractors. At the same time, the mass of the tractor itself almost levels the type of engine used – caterpillar or pneumatic wheels. Therefore, the objects of study were tractors of different classes, energy saturation, and weight. Soil samples were taken from arable and subsurface horizons from five conventional layers. The results showed that the impact of the drivers of the tractors increases the density of the composition of the soil in all conditional layers. However, the compact intensity on the layers differentiated depending on the weight of the tractor. The soil in the traces of tractors weighing up to 6-7 tons was compressed mainly in the Arab horizon (at a depth of 0.3 m), and in the subsurface (at a depth of 0.3-0.5 m) the compact was practically absent. Soil compaction by tractors weighing 8-11 tons occurred to a depth of 0.5 m. At the same time, the increase in volume mass in the layers of the arable horizon was from 0.25 to 0.35 g/cm3. The most effective way to restore the subsurface layer is the use of various subsurface agents in the autumn. Application in the winter of snow retention techniques allows one to accumulate in the loosened subsurface layer of additional moisture needed in the spring presowing period.

Resource-saving method of chemical treatment of tilled crops

The article discusses the state of natural resources as a result of the use of traditional tillage technologies, suggests ways to solve them by switching to the resource-saving strip-till cultivation technology. Analyzed production costs for chemical processing and identified the shortcomings of serial machines for chemical processing of plants. The proposed technology and technical solution for the use of band spraying with the redistribution of working solutions for the objects of impact, taking into account the phase of crop development, which allows accurately making the active substance on the object of impact, which reduces hectare application rates and stresses of cultivated plants, saves money on chemical processing solving environmental problems by reducing the chemical load on the soil. An algorithm has been developed to recalculate the rate of application, as well as a calculator has been upgraded to select the nozzle number at the optimum pressure in the system, taking into account the hectare consumption and the speed of the unit in relation to the resource-saving method of chemical treatment of plants. As a result of the calculations, when using a resource-saving method of chemical processing of tilled crops, the consumption of the working solution is reduced compared to a continuous spraying when applied to crops with a row spacing of 0.7 m by 31.4%, with a row spacing of 0.9 m by 38.9%. This method allows adding a set of machines for mechanical tillage in the framework of the Strip-till strip technology.

Динаміка лабільних та водорозчинних форм гумусу під впливом систем удобрення та технологій основного обробітку ґрунту в короткоротаційній сівозміні

Динаміка лабільних та водорозчинних форм гумусу під впливом систем удобрення та технологій основного обробітку ґрунту в короткоротаційній сівозміні

The Energy Efficiency of the Production and Conversion of Spring Triticale Grain into Bioethanol

According to the assumptions of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD, the share of biofuels in the global transport sector is estimated to reach 15–23% by 2050. The triticale can be used to produce bioethanol. The appropriate production process should generate as much renewable energy as possible per production unit. Plant production can be carried out in various tillage systems and using appropriate doses of nitrogen fertilization. The objective of this study is to compare the effect of traditional tillage system (TRD) and reduced (RED) tillage technology and nitrogen fertilizer (0, 40, 80, 120 kg N ha−1) on grain and bioethanol yield of spring triticale. The field experiment was performed in the south east of Poland (50°42′ N, 23°15′ E) on medium dystrophic typical brown soil. Based on research and calculations, the TRD system and between 40 and 80 kg ha−1 of N fertilizer are recommended for use in the cultivation of triticale for bioethanol production purposes. Such a variant will ensure a sufficient yield of grain (5.190 and 5.803 t ha−1), starch (3.462 and 3.871 t ha−1) and bioethanol (2487.3 and 2780.7 L ha−1) and good agronomic efficiency of N fertilizer (16.96 and 12.15 L of bioethanol per 1 kg of nitrogen (N) applied). The best ratio of energy efficiency of bioethanol production (EROI—Energy Return on (Energy) Investment or “net energy”) was recorded for the TRD system (1.138:1) and for the N fertilizer at 40 kg N ha−1 (1.144:1).

Formation of the physical state and carbon stocks in organic matter of agrochernozem under the influence of resource-saving technologies

In the field experiment in the conditions of the Krasnoyarsk forest-steppe, the influence of resource-saving technologies on the physical state of agrochernozem and the carbon reserves of organic substance is studied. It is shown that the productive moisture reserves are satisfactory, in the subsoil layer there is a tendency to increase the moisture reserves by 2-5 mm on the minimum and zero background compared with plowing. Moldboard plowing and minimal tillage by fluffy consistency determined the greatest degree of differentiation of the humus horizon. Resource-saving technologies of main tillage contributed to an increase in bulk density by 0.05-0.08 g/cc while retaining the optimal parameters. The method of the main tillage determined the stocks of the above-ground mortmass. The stock of plant residues on the soil surface at the minimal background increased 1.4 times, at zero - 2.1 times compared with plowing. Stocks of phytomass, roots and underground mortmass were not identified by crop cultivation. The stock rations of carbon in mobile humus of agrochernozem increased 1.4-1.5 times against the background of resource-saving technologies due to newly formed humic acids and water-soluble organic matter.

Efficiency of application of fungicides for spring wheat protection against root rots

Infestation of grain crops by common root rot in the conditions of Ural Federal District was studied. In previous years, infestation of wheat by Bipolaris sorokiniana pathogens predominated, but in recent years, there has been a gradual shift in the structure of microbiocenosis with the prevalence of Fusarium spp. fungi. With zero and minimum grain crop tillage technologies (no-till, mini-till), chemical disinfection of seeds and fungicidal crop treatment becomes imperative. The efficiency and feasibility of using fungicides was studied on the seeds of spring wheat, cultivar Omskaya 36. Field experiments were conducted in the conditions of Kurgan region on leached chernozem in the period of 2009-2017. Yield losses caused by phytopathogenic fungi were largely determined by the hydrothermal conditions during the growing season. The largest damage to wheat productivity was caused by diseases of this group during dry periods (11% in years with satisfactory growing conditions, 22% in extremely dry years). It was discovered that the approach to protecting seeds from infections should be differentiated. Batches of seeds with high contamination by root rot pathogens are subject to mandatory chemical disinfection. Application of seed disinfectants based on two active agents is effective on wheat seeds infected by root rot pathogens over 15%, with the predominance of fungi genus Fusarium spp. Economic efficiency from the use of single-component seed disinfectants (tebuconazole, triticonazole) was 8-9%. When seeds were treated with seed disinfectants based on two active agents, the yield increased by 1416%. The use of systemic seed disinfectants is not recommended on relatively healthy seed material. It is more appropriate to use biological fungicide based on Bacillus subtilis.

Theoretical substantiation of the working body for soil alignment

A theoretical justification of the leveling tillage working body was carried out, in particular, its dynamic analysis and the main technological parameters were substantiated, the dynamics of oscillatory movements were considered and its optimal design was determined from the condition of maximum sedimentation of the dust fraction.The initial data for theoretical studies were as follows: the size of the line and the milling section, the width of the row spacing, the distance between the leveling working bodies, the mechanical and technological properties of the soil and the agrotechnical requirements for the ground mass.The main structural and technological parameters of the working body were determined, namely: height hpl = 0.4 m, length of the working surface lpl = 0.43 m, width bpl = 0.6 m, angle of inclination to the soil surface: αpl. max = 40°, αpl. min = 25°.Reasonable anti-erosion vibratory working body qualitatively aligns the soil surface and provides an environmentally friendly tillage technology. It is theoretically proved that the vibration processing technologies are environmentally friendly, since the dust fraction settles in the lower layers of the cultivated soil.The researched working body that performs the technological process of leveling the surface of the field with the proposed technology will then further substantiate the mathematical model of the combined method of treating the field littered with plant residues and determine the structural and technological structure of the shredder.Further development of the theoretical foundations of soil leveling, in particular leveling working bodies used in combined units, has been obtained.