Tillage quality depending on hoe size, unit’s speed and soil moisture

Abstract

Results are given from studies on quality of soil tilled by hoes of different sizes, from 130 to 410 mm. Experiments were carried out in Novosibirsk Region. It has been found that the hoe’s size does not influence quality of soil crumbling during tillage. When soil with moisture content of 15 to 20 % is tilled by hoes of 260, 370 and 410 mm in size, the amount of soil aggregates larger than 50 mm decreases, and the amount of soil aggregates lesser than 10 mm increases with increasing the unit’s operating speed from 1.78 to 2.94 m/c. When topsoil moisture decreases down to 5-10% with formation of soil crust, the amount of aggregates larger than 50 mm increases. . As the soil moisture decreases, a tendency towards an increase in the amount of aggregates larger than 50 mm and a reduction in the amount of aggregates lesser than 10 mm has been observed. With soil crust formed, the amount of aggregates larger than 50 mm rises dramatically as the speed of the plowing unit increases. The size of soil aggregates is significantly impacted by rollers. There were carried out comparative tests between cultivators Leader-4 with hoe of 410 cm in size equipped with ring rollers of 500 mm in diameter, and KSO-3 with hoe of 130 mm in size equipped with double bar rollers of 300 mm in diameter. It has been found that ring rollers crush soil aggregates better than bar rollers do. The amount of aggregates larger than 50 mm provided by cultivator KSO-3 is 30% more than that by Leader-4.