The main objective of soil preparation in farming is to modify and manipulate the soil properties to provide a favorable environment for planting seeds and crop growth. Find in this article a brief description about the traditional implements or agricultural machinery used by farmer in soil tillage practices. Plough The traditional plough is made of wooden arm and consists of a metal point or tine and was a light implement. It was a human made implement used to cut the hardpan layers of the soil and removing weeds. Nowadays farmers use different types of ploughs to prepare the land for sowing seeds. The plough type is decided as per the soil condition and structure in any area. Most commonly used plough are – disc plough, mould-board plough, reversible mould-board plough etc. Disc Plough A disc plough is used to break, raise, turn and mix the soil. Its compatible to work even in rocky and stony areas, and in dry trashy land conditions. It usually consists of two to five discs attached to a heavy-duty pipe frame that allows the plough to function despite heavy crop residue to cuts through the soil. Mould-board Plough A mould-board plough consists of special wear-resistant steel blade with bar points for toughest ploughing jobs. It is an adequate equipment to deal with trashy conditions. A mould-board plough consists of the share, the broad blade that cuts through the soil. The mould-board turns the furrow slice, and the landside, a plate on the opposite side from the mould-board absorbs the side thrust of the revolving action. Reversible Mould-board Plough The reversible mould-board plough is also known as two-way plough turns furrow slice to the right or left side of direction or as required when taking rounds. It includes two sets of opposed bottoms using one bottom for one direction and the other bottom in the returning round. Both the set of bottoms are mounted in such a way that they can be raised or lowered individually or also rotated along an axis. Rotary Plough or Rotary Tillers Rotary ploughs or tillers also called rotavators consist of curved cutting blades mounted on a straight power-driven shaft. The rotavator is chiefly used for preparing seedbed and weed control and works well at high speed. It takes power from the tractor PTO and its speed and depth can be adjusted as per the work requirement. A farmer can prepare the land for sowing next crop in minimum time using a rotavator as it removes the weeds and previous crop residue from the land completely.
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Soil tillage is a process to completely modify the surface profile of the soil and bury all the surface residues. Tilling the soil also leaves it vulnerable to wind erosion until it is covered by the fresh crop. However to avoid the risk or minimize it, ploughing should be done when the soil is wet and the crop seeds should be sown as soon as possible into the moist soil. The key purpose of tilling the soil is to turn up the upper layer of the soil, to bring fresh nutrients to the surface Farmers who practice ploughing using mould-board plough or one-way disc plough can achieve high efficient grain yield returns. The ploughing and re-consolidating the soil is both environmentally friendly and efficient. Soils are loosened, organic matters are integrated into the soil to enrich it and weeds are also controlled automatically. The ploughed soil establishes good contact with the subsoil and enables it to hold moisture. Different types of models of plough are used for different purposes in ploughing as soil is not same in very area. Below is the most used types of plough in farming. Mould-board plough – A Moldboard plough provides soil pulverization and buries the weeds and residue almost entirely, to offer suitable atmosphere to plants to grow. Disc Harrow – A disc harrow is generally used as secondary tillage equipment and allows incorporation of fertilizers and pesticides evenly and smoothly. Disc Plough – A disc plough is compatible to works in all types of soil for the purposes of soil breaking, raising, turning and mixing. This type of plough is mostly used in in hard and dry trashy land conditions and where scouring is a major issue. Cultivator – Cultivators are used as used as implement to the tractor for smoothen the hard surface and deep ploughing that allow soil to evenly incorporate fertilizers and pesticides. Rotary Tiller or Rotary plough – Also known as Rotavator, a Rotary tiller is ideal to be used in different soil conditions and applications. It rotating blades or rotors loosen & aerate soil up to ensure a perfectly leveled and finished seedbed. The increasing population is also impacting the demand for food all over the world. One of the most important steps in efforts to meet this demand is to increase productivity in agriculture. Agricultural mechanization plays a vital role in increasing the productivity, efficiency, quality of the edible products and also reduces the suppress loss and production cost of agriculture. Therefore, many farm equipment now offers high technology farm equipment to help farmers increase efficiency, and one of these is combine harvester. A combine harvester is a versatile, sophisticated and complete solution for harvesting. The machine can quickly harvest even the largest fields in a few hours. A multi-crop harvester can be used to harvest grain crops like wheat, rice, soybean, corn, barley etc. Rice production on large scale can be really helpful to meet the demand for food all over the world, keeping in mind the same rice harvester are widely used in all over the world. The harvesting of rice generally takes less time than the other grains. And harvesting rice with a combine harvester allows a farmer to get it packed to deliver directly from the farm. On the other hand, all the human work is replaced by the machine, which not only saves the cost but also helps maintain the quality of the crops. Here we have mentioned a few main advantages of using a modern combine harvester in the harvesting process:
A combine harvester is highly expensive like a tractor and a farmer should make a decision based on his requirement and its usage on his farm. Combine machine are usually preferred by the grain farmers to avoid the hassle of the lengthy process of harvesting. And in this era of agricultural mechanization, it is necessary for farmers to use state-of-the-art machinery to increase their productivity and efficiency. Healthy and High quality soil the necessary for successful farming. By using the best tillage practices for soil, farmers can make sure well-prepared soil to manage weeds, regrow plant nutrients, providing a soft form of sowing seeds, and a suitable surface for seeds. Disking is a practice for soil preparation that is followed by ploughing, whether it’s deep or shallow. While ploughing granulates, cuts, and inverts the soil, to create furrows and ridges, disking breaks up clods and crusts on the surface, improving granulation and surface uniformity. Disking is usually always shallower than ploughing, performed at a depth of 4-6 Inches using agriculture equipment such as a disc harrow, power harrow, poly disc harrow, tandem disc harrow etc. Advantages of Using a Disc harrow
The use of a disc harrow has many advantages for easier soil management. There are many positive effects of disking, some are mentioned here:
Disking is one of the most preferred farm measures to manage crop residue of the previous crop, such as cornstalks, soybean etc. First it chops and then incorporates crop residue into the soil, supporting fast decay and making the soil easier to manage. Another great advantage related with use of disc harrow is the incorporation of agriculture lime into the soil when there is no requirement to increase soil pH. Tillage with a disc harrow supports the mixing of the lime and the soil, to create the perfect ratio, thus reducing acid saturation in the upper layer of the soil. It also provides suitable atmosphere for healthy and solid root development. Can Disking Cause Damage than Benefits? Although using disc harrow has many benefits to improve soil properties, yet in specific circumstances it may negatively impact the soil and disturb its structure. For instance, some herbicides and other chemicals applied to crops becomes part of the crop residue, are combined into the soil during the disking. Furthermore, disking of soil with high moisture may lead to a non-uniform combination of crop residue, and creates clods that might need additional operations to manage soil. Additionally, the compacted soil left under the depth of disking can impact root growth. Due to this reason a farmer should consider the soil moisture before using a harrow. Why Disking is as a Valuable Tillage Practice Disking is a significant tillage practice, even for farmers who generally practice less tillage. To reduce soil disturbance, many famers reduce the use of various agricultural machinery. However, a disc harrow still remains as a part of the farm machines used for preparing soil. Disking seems to be yet another soil tilling practice yet it ultimately effects on both the soil and yield significantly. Disc Harrow -It is one of the versatile tractor implement use for breaking up clods and surface crusts it is attached on the tow hook. disc harrow enhance soil granulation and surface uniformity It restricts weed growth and destroys existing weeds. it till the soil where crops are to be planted is one of the major advantages of using a disc harrow. It also chops up unwanted weeds or crop residues. It is tractor drive tillage implement is supported by either a three-point lift or hydraulically by wheels. The large ones have side sections that can be raised vertically or that fold up to allow easier road transport or to provide better storage configurations. Depending upon the disc arrangements, disc harrows are divided into two classes: a) Single action and b) Double action. Single action disc harrowIt is a special design disc harrow with two gangs placed end to end, which throws the soil in opposite directions. The discs are arranged in such a way that the right side gang throws the soil towards the right and the left side gang throws the soil towards the left. Double action disc harrowSpecially designed disk harrow that consists of two or more gangs, during which a group of 1 or two gangs follows behind the set of the opposite one or two, arranged in such a way that the front and back gangs throw the soil in opposite directions and it generally covers the width starting from 5 to 15 ft. Thus the whole field is worked twice on each trip.
It may be of two types: a) Tandem and b) Off-set. a) Tandem disk harrow it's a disc harrow comprising of 4 gangs during which each gang are often angled within the other way b) Off-set disk harrow it's a disk harrow with two gangs in tandem, capable of being offset to either side of the center-line of pull. Two gangs are fitted one behind the opposite. The width covered by these sorts of harrows ranges from 4 to 30 ft. The soil is thrown in both directions because discs of both gangs face in opposite directions. It travels left or right of the tractor. the road of pull isn't within the middle, that's why it's called off-set disk harrow. the off-set disk harrow is predicated on the essential principle that side thrust against the front gang is opposed by the side thrust of the rear gang. Hence the gangs are arranged at suitable angles in order that both thrusts are counterbalanced with one another. A combine harvester is a versatile agricultural machinery frequently used in the farming industry for various activities of harvesting. It reduces the burden of laborious activities in harvesting season like cutting, winnowing and threshing crops. Using combine harvester grain farmers can easily get the various grains out of their farms without any loss. Combine harvester is majorly used in India and worldwide in the harvesting of wheat, rice, corn, sunflower, pulses, rye, oats, sorghum, barley, flax, soybeans, canola, flax etc. combine
It helps to improve the efficiency and productivity at any farm significantly and also saves time and labour costs and ultimately reducing the overall harvesting cost for farmers. While the combine machine works faster and efficiently, it also increases the production resulting in more crops in minimum time. It makes farms more profitable than manual harvesting. How combine harvester works? When it comes to harvesting grain crops, a combine harvester is an extremely helpful machinery for farmers. It is made up of different parts that perform separate actions inside the machine. However we can say that the header platform is the main feature of a combine harvester machine as it contains pick-up reel, to pull the crop in the cutter bar which cuts down the crops, then it is led to a revolving reel that gathers cut crops. This cut crop is then pushed into for threshing where the grain quickly separates from the stalks. The grain is then pushed away into storage and ultimately gets unloaded to a tractor. On the other hand, the stalk is thrown back into the field it harvested from. Different types of combine harvesters have different header platforms designed for different types of crops being harvested. Advantages of Combine Harvester
The use of a combine harvester makes any farm or farmer more productive and efficient, meeting the timelines in harvesting season. However its cost also makes it hard to afford for many farmers. Thus before buying it a farmers should be sure about its usability on his farm. Primary Tillage Equipment Equipment used to break the soil deeply and loosen it to prepare a suitable seedbed is considered as primary tillage equipment. Primary tillage includes various kinds of ploughs such as mould board plough, disc ploughs, subsoil ploughs, disc tiller ploughs and rotary plough. Plough A disc plough is an agricultural implement used to loosen the soil and making it suitable for the seed sowing. A farmer needs to make the field suitable for sowing seeds and in this process he needs to use different types of ploughs. Ploughing is done to condition the soil so that it can breathe easily making air circulation better. Loose soil makes it easy for seeds to establish good contact in the soil. Subsoil Plough A subsoil plough is used to break up the hardpans or layers of the soil without bringing them to the surface. It is designed in wedge shape and body is narrow while the share is wide to shatter the hard layers of the topsoil. Secondary Tillage Secondary tillage implements are used from the old times to crush the clods and make the fields smooth. If clods are not crushed properly, then the soil is turned to push the clods under the soil surface. Different types of implements are used to turn and mix the soil to create an ideal seedbed.
A Harrow is a secondary tillage implement used to break the clods, soften the soil and destroys the weeds entirely. Different types of Harrows are used as tractor attachment such as disc harrow, offset disc harrow, heavy-duty hydraulic harrow etc. Rotavator or Rotary Tiller
A Rotary tiller and rotavator is secondary tillage implement used to cut the soil and pulverize it. It uses the curved rotating blades attached to a shaft that draws power from the tractor PTO to cut through the soil. It can cut the soil up to the depth of 12 to 15 cm and is most suitable for light soils. |
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February 2022
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