Tillage history
- Tillage is the preparation of the soil for planting and
the process of keeping it loose and free from weeds during
the growth of crops.
- The primary objectives of fundamental purposes of tillage
are divided into three phases: (1) to prepare a suitable seedbed,
(2) to destroy competitive weeds and (3) to improve the physical
condition
of the soil.
- The basic tillage operation is the breaking of the soil in
the preparation of a suitable seedbed.
- The breaking and loosening of the soil is the oldest phase
of village as it includes the various types of plows.
- Prehistorically, it is assumed that man used crude tools of
wood or other material with which he could loosen the soil.
- Perhaps a broken branch of a tree was the first tillage tool
available.
- Later he learned to use fire or stone hand tools to fashion
a soil-strirring tool from a fork of a tree by burning or
hacking off one branch, leaving the longer for the beam and
the trunk part for a handle.
- Still later, he was able to use miral power to pull the plow.
History of Flow
- The plow is probably the oldest agricultural tool.
- The recorded history in the form of hieroglyphs and cuneiform
characters shows that the ancients had a plow thousands of
years B.C.
- It is recorded that about 900 B.C.
- Elisha as found "plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before
him".
- The wooden plow with a metal share has been used for many
centuries, and millions of wooden plows are still is use today.
- The parts of the wooden plow were usually held together by
animal thongs as there were no nails, bolts, or haywire available.
- The Roman plow which was improved by the Dutch, was imported
into England about 1730.
- The Ensex plow of about 1756 had an iron moldboard.
- The Norfolk sheel plow of 1721 had a cast-iron share and an
iron rounded moldboard.
- A curved moldboard made its appearance in 1760 on the Suffolk
swing plow.
- The Rotherham plow was improved by James Small, who wrote
a book on plow design in 1984.
- The close of the eighteenth century saw the chage in England
from the wooden plow to the iron plow.
- In American, Thomas Jefferson and Daniel Webster were among
the first to advance improvements of the plow.
- Charles Newbold of Burlington, New Jersey, secured the first
patont on a cast-iron plow in 1797.
- Farmers rejected this iron plow because say thought it poisoned
the soil; Jethro Wood developed a moldboard in 1814 of such
curvature as to turn the soil in even furrows.
- The first steel plow was made from three sections of an old
handsaw by John Lane about 1833.
- He also secured in 1868 a patent for soft-center steel, which
is used at the present time in making moldboard for plows.
In 1837, John Deere at Grand Detour, Illinois, made a steel
plow (share and moldboard in one piece) from an old sawmill
saw.
- Ten years later be established factory at Moline, Illinois.
- James Oliver was granted a patent in 1868 for hardening cast
iron which was own as chilled iron.
- In 1856, M. Furley patented a single-bottom sulky or wheel
plow which permitted the operator to ride.
- In 1864, F.S. Davenport patented a riding two-bottom horse
drawn gang plow.
- Three-and four-bottom gang plows often required ten to twelve
horses to pull them.
- The large ten-to fifteen-bottom plows were pulled by steam
tractors in the 1890's by the large, slow, cumbersom gasoline-engine
tractors from about 1900 to 1910.
- The early two-to five-bottom trailing-tractor plows were equipped
with hand-lever lifts.
- In the early twenties, mechanical power lifts were developed.
- They were used until the hydraulic lift was introduced in
the forties.
- The integral tractor-mounted unit assembly and unit-lifted
plow were developed in the early forties by Ferguson.
- This type of plow is now becoming popular on small and average
sized farms.
Disc plow
- was probably developed about 1890. Models were listed
in implement catalogues by 1895.
- One of the earliest patents for a disk plow was secured by
M.A. and I.M. Cravath, Bloomington, Illionois. J.K. Underwood,
D.H. Lane, and M.T. Hancock made improvements on the disk
plow and made it practical.
- Since 1900, the development of the disk plow has followed
trends similar to that of the moldboard plow.
Influence of the flow on man
- When man grasped a crooked stick and began to till the
soil, he took his first step toward civilization.
- With each phase in the development of the plow, there has
been a corresponding advance in civilization.
- In the beginning, one man, even though he gave all his time
and energy to the task, could till only a small acreage.
- Later, animal power was applied and the acreage per man was
increased.
- Now, with the large amount of mechanical power available,
the acreage per man has been very materially increased.
- Thus, man can now produce more foods tuff than is necessary
for his own sustenance and can furnish food to many who are
working at other tasks.
- Hence, we can say that the flow is the foundation of civilization.
- In the production of all kinds of crops and in the preparation
of a seedbed for them, the plow is the first tool used, and
it is thus the basic tool of the farm.
- With the plow the ground is broken and pulverized into small
particles, trash on the surface may be left on the surface
or completely covered.
- One not familiar with the nature of the soil, the influence
of water, air, and temperature upon its physical condition,
and the action of the plow upon it may think that the plow
is a very simple tool, requiring very little adjustment and
practically no care at all.
- But those who are familiar with soil conditions and the plow
adjustments necessary to obtain the best results know that
good planning is not a simple matter.
- Optimum plowing requires the consideration of numerous factors.
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Types of tillers
- Disc tillers vary considerably in the flexibility of the
disc cylinder.
- The rigid type has a single axle.
- Some larger tillers have several independent disc cylinders
or gangs.
- To provide flexibility these gangs all operate at the same
angle, but each gang can move up and down separately over
uneven terrain.
- Another flexible type has the axle jointed at intervals, making
a snake-like flexible cylinder for working uneven ground.
- The flexible types can be shortened to suit the power available.
- The trailing type is pulled from the tractor drawbar.
- It is supported entirely by its won three wheels
- The semi-mounted tiller has a two-point, fairly rigid attachment
to the tractor drawbar.
- The load is partly on the drawbar and partly on the rear furrow
wheel
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Kinds
of tillage equipment
- Tillage equipment can be divided into two general classes,
namely, (1) primary tillage equipment and (2) secondary tillage
equipment.
- Equipment that is used to break deeply and loosen the soil
to prepare a suitable seedbed may be considered as primary
tillage equipment. This group includes various kinds of moldboard
ploughs, disc ploughs, subsoil ploughs or chisles, disc tiller
ploughs and rotary tillers.
- Secondary tillage equipment includes harrows, pulverizers,
cultivators, weeders, and special tools for surface tillage
to conserve moisture and destroy weeds.
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Secondary tillage
The term secondary tillage in this discussion means stirring the soil at a comparatively
shallow depth (0 to 6 inches).
- The action of the plough does not usually prepare an ideal
seedbed.
- Unless the plough is working in an ideal, mellow soil, further
pulverization of the soil will generally be necessary before
planting.
- As the young plants develop certain amounts of cultivation
and weed eradication will be required.
- The equipment used to perform these operations are known as
secondary tillage implements.
- The first implements to prepare the soil for sowing probably
originated simultaneously with primitive ploughs.
- They were dry branches of various shapes drawn by men or occasionally
by animals.
- It was not until the Roman era that the toothed harrow with
wooden teeth (Fig. 151) appeared.
- In time, the shape of the harrow frame was altered.
- In the Middle Ages, harrows consisting of several bars tied
crosswise were used. at the beginning of the nineteenth century,
wooden harrows with rigid tines were produced on the pattern
of harrows with spring tines.
- At the end of the nineteenth century cultivators for deep
tillage were designed and were used to replace ploughs to
some extent.
- The first patent for a disc harrow in the United States was
obtained in 1867.
- About then the Higganum Corporation at Higganum, Connecticut,
began making disc harrows commercially.
- The disc blades used before 1886 were all plain, perfectly
smooth around the edge.
- In that year, George N. Clark, president of the Higganum Corporation,
cut curved ntoches in the rim of the discs and used the term
"cutway" to describe this disc harrows.
- Regular disc harrows, had become quite popular by 1900.
- In 1925, the offset disc harrow was designed to work under
the branches of fruit trees.
The general objectives are
- To improve the seedbed by greater pulverization of the
soil.
- To conserve moisture by summer-fallow operations to kill weeds
and reduce evaporation.
- To cut up crop residue and cover crops and mix vegetable matter
with the top soil.
- To break up clods, firm the top soil and put it in better
tilth for seeding and germination of seeds.
- To destroy weeds on fallow lands.
- In general a good secondary tillage operation is possible
after proper adjustment. An even better job is dependent upon
the attention shown to the operation by the operator. The
pictures below give an idea of a desirable soil consistency
after harrowing.
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Secondary tillage history
Secondary tillage equipments
Types of secondary tillage equipment
- There are many types of machines that can be used for
secondary tillage.
- They are the various types of harrows (disc, spike tooth,
spring tooth), cultivators, land rollers and packers and rotary
hoes.
Types of disc harrows
- The disc harrow first attained wide popularity during
the latter part of the nineteenth century.
- It is now second only to moulboard plough in its importance
as a tillage implement in dry land farming.
- Disc harrows may be classified according to their gang configuration
as in Fig. 153 or according to whether they are trailed or
mounted.
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Types of tillages
There are various types of tillage.
Minimum Tillage |
It is the minimum soil manipulation
necessary to meet tillage requirements for crop production |
Strip Tillage |
It is a tillage system in
which only isolated bands of soil are tilled. |
Rotary Tillage |
It is the tillage operations
employing rotary action to cut, break and mix the
soil. |
Mulch Tillage |
It is Preparation of soil
in such a way that plant residues or other mulching
materials are specially left on a near the surface. |
Combined Tillage |
Operations simultaneously
utilizing two or more different types of tillage tools
or implements to simplify, control or reduce the number
of operations over a field are called combined tillage.
Tillage is performed by tool, implement or machine. |
Tool |
It is an individual working
element such as disc or shovel. |
Implement |
It is equipment generally
having no driven moving parts, such as harrow or having
only simple mechanism such as plough. |
Machine |
It is a combination of rigid
or resistant bodies having definite motions and capable
of performing useful work. |
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Minimum tillage equipment
- The following paragraphs suggest ways in which minimum
tillage can be accomplished.
- Primary and secondary tillage, as well as planting, are operations
that an be accomplished simultaneously under certain conditions.
- It is economically convenient and less soil compaction occurs,
but some other factors may indicate the convenience of performing
these operations at different times.
plough Packer
- This minimum tillage operation uses a roller packer behind
the mouldboard plough, Both implements are operated by the
same tractor.
- The plough-packer works best on loam and lighter soils having
some cover other than heavy sod.
- The plough packer does as little tillage as any of the once-over
implements.
- Experiments, however, have shown that it is sufficient as
long as adequate crop stands are obtained.
- This tiller is especially good for heavy soils.
- The blades press the furrows down and exert some packing below
the surface.
- At the same time, the tune does some smoothing.
- This action does more to correct ploughing defects than the
plough packer.
- Draft is about twice that needed for the packer.
- The packer can also be used in front of the planter during
the next operation, but it is not so effective because the
clods are drier and harder to break.
- A spite harrow can also be used instead of the packer.
- It can do a good if its width is twice that of the plough
so as to cover the soil twice.
- The spike harrow is known by all farmers, and most of them
have one probably discarded.
- One section makes a good light-draft minimum tillage implement.
- The teeth must be set slanting so the frame drags and levels
the soil.
- It is convenient to hitch the harrow in such a way that it
is lifted together with the plough.
- It is important because spike harrows collect trash.
- The rotary hoe, run backward, serves very wall as a minimum
tillage tool.
- It crumbles lumps and presses down partly turned furrows.
- The rotary hoe, run backward, does a little presenting of
furrows and breaks soft lumps.
- In amount of tillage performed and in draft, it compares favorably
with the plough packer.
The circuit tiller
- Ttills and firms the soil by the turning action of a wheel
which lies almost flat on the ground.
- The slight pitch of the wheel causes it to turn.
- A small gauage wheel holds it in position.
- Figure 39.
- This circular tiller revolves as it is pulled behind the plough.
- You can add weight to the wheel for more firming.
The spring tooth harrow
- it does not do a satisfactory job because it pulls up
trash and grass.
- On the other hand, the draft is considerably higher than for
any of the tools described above.
Plough packer with grain drill
- A grain drill covering just the width of the plough is
hitched behind the plough packer unit described before.
- It works well when ploughing can be done at planting times.
In some cases the soil may be too dry at that time for ploughing.
- Heavy compacted soils may have to be ploughed some time before
planting in order to store some water for germination and
the first stage of plant growth.
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Rotary tillers development of history
- Although there has been a marked increase of interest
in rotary plow and tillers in the United States during the
last few years, the principle of rotary tillage is not new.
- Patents on devices of this type were issued as early as 1850-1860,
but it was not until about 1910 that a successful rotary tiller
using the elastic-claw principle with a staggered arrangement,
was developed by Von Meyenberg of Switzerland.
- Swissrade rotary plows or tillers were introduced into the
United States in about 1930, and soon afterwards several American
manufacturers started making this type of equipment.
- It has only been rather recently that this type of tillage
has experienced any real interest.
- The reason for the lack of interest was high cost, high power
requirements and poorer weed control.
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Types of rotary tillers
Rotary tillers are available as
Garden type
- self-propelled units (two wheel, 8 to 30 inches wide and
6 to 15 H.P. engines).
- The garden-type rotary tillers have proved themselves practical
and effective for preparing seedbeds from unploughed ground
for nurseries, greenhouses, vegetable crops, lawn planting,
and similar jobs.
- These narrow machines are also suitable for shallow cultivation
and weed control between rows of certain crops.
Trailed or tractor-mounted units with p.t.o. drives
- This type is usually 3 to 4 feet wide and requires 10
to 15 horesepower for each foot of width.
- The cutting knives or tines are generally mounted on a horizontal
power driven shaft which operates at about 300 r.p.m.
- The knives on some machines are provided with a shock-cushioned
friction clutch that prevents the knives from breaking when
they come in contact with a rock o solid obstacle.
Trailed units with auxillary engines
- This rotary tiller is pulled forward by a tractor but
has the cutting knives driven by an auxillary engine mounted
on the frame of the plough.
- This type of plough is made in 4 to 7-foot sizes and requires
60 to 100 horsepower.
- The cutting knives are mounted on a horizontal power-driven
shaft.
Field-type, self-propelled machines (0 to 8 ft. cut, with engines as large as 180 h.p.
- Rotary tillers may also be classified by the position
of the soil engaging rotor.
- Most of the rotary tillers used in the United States have
a horizontal axis for the rotating knives
- In Europe, tillers with a vertical axis for the rotating knives
are also common
- There are some differences in the designers of frame work
and drive mechanism to the two types.
- There are also some slight differences in their particular
use of operation, but basically they do the same job and have
the same limitations.
Development
- The disc tiller is also called the disc-plough, vertical
disc-plough, one-way disc-plough, harrow plough, Wheatland
plough, cylinder plough, tiller disc-plough and one-way disc.
i.e. consider "disc tiller" the most suitable name.
- The disc tiller was developed in the Great Plains area of
the United States about 1927. It was designed primarily as
a one-way disc harrow. As its use spread, farmers began to
adopt it for shallow ploughing. Improvements have made the
tool into a popular and widely used plough.
- The speed of the plough should not be over 4 m.p.h. High-speed
operation increases the power requirements, causes too much
pulverizing of the surface soil, and does not leave trash
on the surface to prevent wind erosion.
- This implement is about halfway between the standard disc-plough
and the disc harrow in its soil working actions.
- It carries the discs at approximately a 45-degree angle to
the travel direction cutting the throwing all the soil in
the same direction. The discs are smaller than on a disc-plough,
usually 16 to 24 inches in diameters, and have no scrapers
to assist in inverting the soil.
- They cut shallower and narrower than those on the disc-plough,
usually making a cut approximately 4-inches in width. They
mix the soil with the trash instead of inverting the furrow
slice and covering the trash.
- This mixing action retards drifting and blowing and keeps
the soil in excellent condition to receive and hold moisture.
Because the disc tiller is primarily a mixing tool, the draft
is lower per foot than with the disc-plough.
- Thus the same power, can pull a wider implement, cover more
ground, and work faster than with the disc-plough. Where trash
mixed through the top soil is not objectionable and where
it is not necessary to work the soil deeply, a disc tiller
can be substituted for a disc or moldboard plough.
- As the name Wheatland suggests, these implements were originally
developed for the preparation of wheat land. The disc tiller
is not a universal tool like the moldboard plough; it is limited
to certain regions.
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Disc plough
- It is a plough which cuts, turns and in some cases breaks
furrow slices by means of separately mounted large steel discs.
- A disc plough is designed with a view to reduce friction by
making a rolling plough bottom instead of sliding plough bottom.
- A disc plough works well in the conditions where mouldboard
plough does not work satisfactorily.
Advantages of disc plough
i. A disc plough can be forced to penetrate into the soil,
which is too hard and dry for working with a mouldboard plough.
ii. It works well in sticky soil in which a mouldboard plough
does not occur.
iii. It is more useful for deep ploughing.
iv. It can be used safely in stony and stumpy soil without much
danger of breakage.
v. A disc plough works well even after a considerable part of
the disc is worn off in abrasive soil.
vi. It works in loose soil also (such as peat) without much clogging.
Disadvantages of disc plough
i. It is not suitable for covering surface trash and weeds
as effectively as mouldboard plough does.
ii. Comparatively, the disc plough leaves the soil in rough and
more cloudy condition than that of smouldboard plough.
iii. Disc plough is much heavier than mouldboard plough for equal
capacities because penetration of this plough is affected
largely by its weight rather than suction.
iv. There is one significant difference between mouldboard plough
and disc plough i.e. mouldboard plough is forced into the
ground by the suction of the plough, while the disc plough
is forced into the ground by its own weight.
Types of disc plough
- Disc ploughs are of two types:
- (i) Standard disc plough and (ii) Vertical disc plough.
Standard disc plough
- It consists of steel disc of 60 to 90 cm diameter, set
at a certain angle to the direction of travel. Each disc revolves
on a stub axle in a thrust bearing, carried at the lower end
of a strong stand which is bolted to the plough beam (Fig.
8).
- The angle of the disc to the vertical and to the furrow wall
is adjustable.
- It action, the disc cuts the soil, breaks it and pushes it
sideways.
- There is little inversion of furrow slice as well as little
burying of weeds and trashes.
- The disc plough may be mounted type or trailed type. In mounted
disc plough, the wheels of the tractor take the side thrust.
- Sometimes a rear wheel is fitted to take side thrust of the
plough to some extent.
- It trailed type; the furrow wheel of the plough takes side
thrust.
- Disc is made of heat-treated steel of 5 mm to 10 mm thickness.
- The edge of the disc is well sharpened to cut the soil.
- The mount of concavity varies with the diameter the disc.
- The approximate values being 8 cm for 60 cm diameter disc
and 16 cm for 95 cm diameter.
- A few important terms connected with disc plough explained
below:
Disc
- It is a circular, concave revolving steel plate used for
cutting and inverting the soil.
The rotovator
- It consists of 16 curved tines bolted on a horizontal
power
- driven shaft.
- On this shaft 8 times are bent at edge in right hand side
and another eight in the left hand side.
- The times are so arranged to give uniform cutting load on
the shaft.
- Rotovator ploughs, pulverises mixes and levels dry and wet
lands.
- Rotovator is used for pudding also in the previously ploughed
land.
- It replaces cultivator, disc harrow and puddler.
- It converts crop residuals as manure.
- Rotovator offers a package of benefits to the farmers like
getting a better seed bed, weed control, improvement of humus
content and soil structure.
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Disc tiller development
- The disc tiller is also called the disc-plough, vertical
disc-plough, one-way disc-plough, harrow plough, Wheatland
plough, cylinder plough, tiller disc-plough and one-way disc.
i.e. consider "disc tiller" the most suitable name.
- The disc tiller was developed in the Great Plains area of
the United States about 1927.
- It was designed primarily as a one-way disc harrow.
- As its use spread, farmers began to adopt it for shallow ploughing.
- Improvements have made the tool into a popular and widely
used plough. The speed of the plough should not be over 4
m.p.h.
- High-speed operation increases the power requirements, causes
too much pulverizing of the surface soil, and does not leave
trash on the surface to prevent wind erosion.
- This implement is about halfway between the standard disc-plough
and the disc harrow in its soil working actions.
- It carries the discs at approximately a 45-degree angle to
the travel direction cutting the throwing all the soil in
the same direction.
- The discs are smaller than on a disc-plough, usually 16 to
24 inches in diameters, and have no scrapers to assist in
inverting the soil.
- They cut shallower and narrower than those on the disc-plough,
usually making a cut approximately 4-inches in width.
- They mix the soil with the trash instead of inverting the
furrow slice and covering the trash.
- This mixing action retards drifting and blowing and keeps
the soil in excellent condition to receive and hold moisture.
- Because the disc tiller is primarily a mixing tool, the draft
is lower per foot than with the disc-plough. thus the same
power, can pull a wider implement, cover more ground, and
work faster than with the disc-plough. Where trash mixed through
the top soil is not objectionable and where it is not necessary
to work the soil deeply, a disc tiller can be substituted
for a disc or moldboard plough.
- As the name Wheatland suggests, these implements were originally
developed for the preparation of wheat land.
- The disc tiller is not a universal tool like the moldboard
plough; it is limited to certain regions.
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Types of disc ploughs
- As with moldboard ploughs, disc ploughs are also classified
by (1) their method of hitching to the tractor (i.e., direct
mounted, semi-mounted and trailing) and (2) whether to plough
is reversible or not.
Integral mounted ploughs
- They are usually to the tractor by three-point linkages.
- They can be raised or lowered by the hudraulic system.
- Most can be attached in less than a minute.
- They are usually rear-mounted and have a rear wheel to absorb
the side thrust.
- But some are mounted ahead of the rear wheels.
- A rear furrow wheel on an integral mounted disc plough may
serve to counteract side pressures, hold the plough in alignment,
and act as a gage wheel for ploughing depth.
- The depth in some makes is controlled by adjusting the hydraulic
lift.
Semi-mounted disc plough
- The semi-mounted disc plough is also called a direct-connected
blow.
- The front of this plough is connected to and mounted on the
tractor, thus diminating the front furrow wheel and the land
wheel (See Figure 120).
- A furrow steel supports the rear end.
- This close-coupled plough is compact and easy to handle.
- It is easy to maneuver because short turns can be made, enabling
the operator to close to fences.
- It can also be backed into corners.
- The rear wheel is automatically controlled from the steering
mechanism at the front of the plough hydraulic lift raises
the front of the plough high enough so it can be turned and
transported easily.
Development History
- Although there has been a marked increase of interest
in rotary plough and tillers in the United States during the
last few years, the principle of rotary tillage is not new.
- Patents on devices of this type were issued as early as 1850-1860,
but it was not until about 1910 that a successful rotary tiller
using the elastic-claw principle with a staggered arrangement,
was developed by Von Meyenberg of Switzerland.
- Swissrade rotary ploughs or tillers were introduced into the
United States in about 1930, and soon afterwards several American
manufacturers started making this type of equipment
- It has only been rather recently that this type of tillage
has experienced any real interest. The reason for the lack
of interest was high cost, high power requirements and poorer
weed control.
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Plough
- The main implement for primary tillage is ploughed used
for ploughing operations.
- Ploughing is the primary tillage operation, which is performed
to cut, break and invert the soil partially or completely.
- Ploughing essentially means opening the upper crust of the
soil, breaking the clods and making the soil suitable for
sowing seeds.
The purpose of ploughing can be summarized as below
- To obtain a deep seed bed of good texture.
- To increase the water holding capacity of the soil.
- To improve soil aeration
- To destroy weeds and grasses.
- To destroy insects and pests.
- To prevent soil erosion and
- To add fertility to the soil by covering vegetation.
Normal Ploughing
- It is the ploughing up to a depth of about 15 cm.
Contour Ploughing
- It is the method of ploughing in which the soil is broken
and turned along the contours.
Types of Plough
- Different types of plough are used to different places.
They may be classified as
- Indigenous plough
- Mouldboard plough
- Disc plough
- Chisel plough
- Sub soiler
- Rotary plough.
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Types of ploughs
- Different types of plough are used to different places.
They may be classified as
- Indigenous plough
- Mouldboard plough
- Disc plough
- Chisel plough
- Sub soiler
- Rotary plough.
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Indegenous plough
- Indigenous plough is most commonly used in this country.
- The shape and size of the plough varies with places and regions
due to variation in soil types and tillage requirements.
- The main parts of the plough are: (i) body (ii) share (iii)
shoe (iv) beam (v) handle.
Body
- It is the main frame to which the shoe, beam and handle
are attached.
Share
- It is a narrow steel bar attached to the upper surface
of the shoe longitudinally along the centre line and projecting
slightly out.
- The shoe, beam and the handle are generally attached to the
body of the plough.
- The Share is attached to the shoe which penetrates into the
soil and breaks it open.
- The shoe also helps in stabilizing and balancing the plough
while in operation.
- The plough is provided with a wooden beam and a handle.
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Bundformer
- It is used for making bunds or ridges by collecting the
soil (Fig. 15).
- Bunds are required to hold water in the soil, thereby conserve
moisture and prevent run off.
- The size of the bund former is determined by measuring the
maximum horizontal distance between the two rear ends of the
forming boards.
- Bund former consists of: (i) Forming board (ii) Beam (iii)
Handle.
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Green manure trampler (Animal drawn)
- It is an implement used to trample and press the green
manure crop in the fields (Fig. 16).
- There are two types of trampler: (i) Slat type and (ii) Disc
type.
- In slat type trampler, long radial slats are fixed to the
central axle through the supporting disc.
- In disc type trampler, flat discs are fixed to the central
axle.
- The size of the trampler is its maximum working width.
- weight of the green manure trampler (without beam) lies
between 30 kg to 40 kg only.
- The main parts of the trampler are:
- Frame (ii) Axle and bearings (iii) Disc or slat (iv) Foot
board and (v) Handle.
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Harrows
- A harrow is an implement that cuts the soil to a shallow
depth for smoothening and pulverising the soil as well as
to cut the weeds and to mix materials with soil.
- It is an implement used to break the clods after ploughing,
to collect trash from the ploughed and to level the seed bed.
Harrowing
- It is secondary tillage operation which pulverises, smoothens
and packs the soil in seed bed preparation and / or control
weeds.
- There are several types of harrow used in India, such
as:
- Disc harrow
- Triangualr harrow
- Spring tooth harrow
- Bodela
- Spike tooth harrow
- Zig-zag harrow
- Blade harrow (Bakhar)
- Bindha
- Guntaka
- Other harrows.
Disc Harrow
- It is a harrow which performs the harrowing operations
by means of a set (or a number of sets) of rotating steel
discs, each set being mounted on a common shaft. Disc harrows
are of two types depending upon the sources of power. (a)
Tractor drawn
(b) Animal drawn
Tractor drawn disc harrow
- Disc harrow is found very suitable for hard ground, full
of stalks and grasses.
- It cuts the lumps of soil, clods and roots. Discs are mounted
on one, two or more axles which may be set at a variable angle
to the line of motion.
- As the harrow is pulled ahead, the discs rotate on the ground.
- Depending upon the disc arrangements, disc harrows are divided
into two classes: (a) Single action and (b) Double action.
Single action disc harrow
- It is a harrow with two gangs placed end to end, which
throw the soil in opposite directions.
- The discs are arranged in such a way that right side gang
throws the soil towards right, and left side gang shows the
soil towards left (Fig. 11).
Double action harrow
- A disc harrow consisting of two or more gangs, in which
a set of one or two gangs follow behind the set of the other
one or two, arranged in such a way that the front and back
gangs throw the soil in opposite directions (Fig. 11).
- Thus the entire field is worked twice in each trip.
- It may be of two types: (a) Tandem and (b) Off-set.
Tandem disc harrow
- It is a disc harrow comprising of four gangs in which
each gang can be angled in opposite direction (Fig. 12).
Off-set disc harrow
- It is a disc harrow with two gangs in tandem, capable
of being off-set to either side of the centre line of pull.
- Two gangs are fitted one behind the other (Fig. 12).
- The soil is thrown in both directions because discs of both
gangs face in opposite directions.
- It is very useful for orchards and gardens.
- It travels left to right of the tractor.
- The line of pull is not in the middle, that's why it is called
off-set disc harrow (Fig. 13).
- Off-set disc harrow is based on the basic 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 so that both
thrusts are counter balanced with each other.
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Mouldboard plough
- A mouldboard plough is very common implement used for
primary tillage operations (Fig. 2).
- This plough performs several functions at a time.
Functions
- cutting the furrow slice
- lifting the soil
- turning the furrow slice and
- pulverising the soil.
Components
- M.B. Plough consists of (Fig. 3):
- Share (b) Mouldborad (c) Land side (d) Frog and (e) Tailpiece.
Share
- It is that part of the plough bottom which penetrates
into the soil and makes a horizontal cut below the surface.
Mouldboard
- It is the curved part which lifts and turns the furrow
slice.
Landside
- It is the flat plate which bears against and transmits
the rear side lateral thrust of the plough bottom to the furrow
wall.
Frog
- It is the part to which other components of the plough
bottom are attached.
Tail piece
- It is an adjustable extension, which can be fastened to
the rear of a mould board to help in turning a furrow slice.
Share
- It penetrates into the soil and makes a horizontal cut
below the soil surface (Fig. 4).
- It is sharp, well-polished and pointed component. Different
portions of the share are called by different names such as:
- (1) Share point (2) Cutting edge (3) Wing of share (4) Gunnels
(5) Cleavage edge and
(6) Wing bearing.
Share point |
- It is the
forward end of the cutting edge which actually penetrates
into the soil (Fig. 4)
|
Cutting edge |
- It
is the front edge of the share which makes horizontal
cut in the soil (Fig. 4). It is beveled to some distance.
|
Wing of share |
- It
is the outer end of the cutting edge of the share.
It supports the plough bottom (Fig. 4).
|
Gunnel |
- It
is the vertical face of the share which slides along
the furrow wall. It takes the side thrust of the soil
and supports the plough bottom against the furrow
wall (Fig. 4).
|
Cleavage edge |
- It
is edge of the share which forms joint between mouldboard
and share on the frog (Fig. 4).
|
Wing bearing |
- It
is the level portion of the wing of the share, providing
a bearing for the outer corner of the plough bottom.
|
Material of share |
- The
shares are made of chilled cast iron or steel. The
steel mainly contains about 0.70 to 0.80% carbon and
about 0.50 to 0.80% manganese besides other minor
elements.
|
Type of share
- Share is of different types such as:
- Slip share
- Slipnose share
- Shin share and
- Bar point share.
Slip share
- It is one piece share with curved cutting edge, having
no additional part.
- It is a common type of share, mostly used by the farmers,
It is simple in design, but it has got the disadvantage that
the entire share has to be replaced if it is worn out due
to constant use (Fig. 5a).
Slipnose share
- It is a share in which the point of share is provided
by a small detachable piece.
- It has the advantage that share point can be replaced as and
when required.
- If the point is worn out, it can be changed without replacing
the entire share, effecting considerable economy (Fig. 5b).
Shin share
- It is a share having a shin as an additional part.
- It is similar to the slip share with the difference that an
extension is provided to it by the side of the mouldboard
(Fig. 5c).
Bar point share
- It is a share in which the point of the share is provided
by an adjustable and replaceable bar.
- This bar serves the purpose of point of the share and land
side of the plough (Fig. 5d).
Mouldboard
- The mouldboard is that part of the plough which receives
the furrow slice from the share.
- It lifts, turns and breaks the furrow slice.
- To suit different soil conditions and crop requirements, mouldborad
has been designed in different shapes.
- The mouldboard is of following types: (a) General purpose
(b) Stubble (c) Sod or Breaker and (d) Slat.
General purpose
- It is a mouldboard having medium curvature lying between
stubble and sod.
- The sloping of the surface is gradual (Fig. 6a).
- It turns the well-defined furrow slice and pulverizes the
soil thoroughly.
- It has fairly long mouldboard with a gradual twist, the surface
being slightly convex.
Stubble type
- It is a short but broader mouldboard with a relatively
abrupt curvature, which lifts breaks and turns the furrow
slice used in stubble soils.
- It curvature is not gradual but it is abrupt along the top
edge (Fig. 6b).
- This causes the furrow slice to be thrown off quickly, pulverising
it much better than other types of mouldboard.
- This is best suited to work in stubble soil that is under
cultivation for years together. Stubble soil is that soil
in which stubble of the plants from the previous crop is still
left on the land at the time of ploughing.
- This type of mouldborad is not suitable for lands full of
grasses.
Sod or Breaker type
- It is a long mouldboard with gentle curvature which lifts
and inverts the unbroken furrow slice (Fig. 6c).
- It is used in tough soil of grasses.
- It turns over thickly covered soil.
- This is very useful where complete inversion of soil is required
by the farmer.
- This type has been designed for use in sod soils.
Slat type
- It is a mouldboard whose surface is made of slats placed
along the length of the mouldboard so that there are gaps
between the slats (Fig. 6d).
- This type of mouldboard is often used, where the soil is sticky,
because the solid mouldboard does not scour well in sticky
soils.
Land side
- It is the flat plate which bears against and transmits
lateral thrust of the plough bottom to the furrow wall.
It helps to resist the side pressure exerted by the furrow
slice on the mouldboard.
- It also helps in stabilizing the plough while it is in operation.
- Land side is fastened to the frog with the help of plough
bolts.
- The rear bottom end of the land side is known as heel which
rubs against the furrow sole.
Frog
- Frog that part of the plough bottom to which the other
components of the plough bottom are attached (Fig. 7).
- It is an irregular piece of metal. It may be made of cast
iron for cast iron ploughs or it may be welded steel for steel
ploughs.
Tail piece
- It is an important extension of mouldboard which helps
in turning a furrow slice.
Plough accesories
- There are a few accessories necessary for ploughs such
as: (i) Jointer (ii) Coulter (iii) Gauge wheel (iv) Land wheel
and (v) Furrow wheel.
Jointer
- It is a small irregular piece of metal having a shape
similar to an ordinary plough bottom.
- It looks like a miniature plough. Its purpose is to turn over
a small ribbon like furrow slice directly in front of the
main plough bottom.
- This small furrow slice is cut from the left and upper side
of the main furrow slice and is inverted so that all trashes
on the top of the soil are completely turned down and buried
under the right hand corner of the furrow slice is cut from
the left and upper side of the main furrow slice and is inverted
so that all trashes on the top of the soil are completely
turned down and buried under the right hand corner of the
furrow.
Coulter
- It is device used to cut the furrow slice vertically from
the land ahead of the plough bottom.
- It cuts the furrow slice from the land and leaves a clear
wall.
- It also cuts trashes which are covered under the soil by the
plough.
- The coulter may be: (s) Rolling type disc coulter or (b) Sliding
type knife coulter.
Rolling type disc coulter
- It is a round steel disk which has been sharpened on the
edge and suspended on a shank and yoke from the beam.
- The edge of the coulter may be either smooth or notched.
- It is so fitted that it can be adjusted up-down and side ways.
- The up-down adjustment takes care of depth and sideways adjustment
is meant for taking care of width of cut.
Sliding type knife coulter
- It is a stationary knife fixed downward in a vertical
position on the beam.
- The knife does not roll over the ground but slides on the
ground.
- The knife may be of different shapes and sizes.
- Gauge wheel: It is an auxiliary wheel of an implement to maintain
an uniform depth
of working.
- Gauge wheel helps to maintain uniformity in respect of depth
of ploughing in different soil conditions.
- It is usually placed in hanging position.
Land wheel
- It is the wheel of the plough which runs on the unploughed
land.
Front furrow side
- It is the front wheel of the plough which runs in the
furrow.
Rear furrow wheel
- It is rear wheel of the plough which runs in the furrow.
Top
Ridger (Animal drawn)
- It is an implement, which cuts and turns the soil in two
opposite directions simultaneously for forming ridges.
- It is also known as furrower.
- Ridger is used to form ridges, for sowing row crop seeds and
plants in well tilled soil.
- The ridger is also used for forming field furrows or channels,
earthing up and similar other operations.
- Ridgers are also known by the names ridging plough and double
mouldboard plough.
- The ridger generally has V-shaped or wedge-shaped share, fitted
to the frog.
- The nose or the tip of the share penetrates into the soil
and breaks the earth.
- The mouldboards lift, invert and cast aside the soil, forming
deep channels and ridges of the required size.
- A ridger consists of beam, clevis, frog, handle, mouldboards,
braces, share and sliding shoe.
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Puddler (Animal drawn)
- It is an implement used for churning the soil in standing
water.
- Puddler is used for preparation of paddy fields with standing
water after initial ploughing.
- It breaks up the clods and churns the soil.
- The main purpose of puddling is to reduce leaching of water,
to kill weeds by decomposing and to facilitate the transplanting
of paddy seedlings by making the soil softer.
- Puddling is done in a standing water of 5 to 10 cm depth.
- A common puddler used in this country has three puddling units,
each having four paddles mounted on a axle (Fig. 14).
- The axle with the puddling units is freely mounted on two
bearing, fitted on a frame, made of metal or wood.
- The weight of the puddler including its beam is within range
of 30 to 40 kg only.
- The puddler consists of
1. Frame
2. Paddles
3. Metal cross
4. Axle
5. Beam
6. Handle.
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