ADAMA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVESRITY

SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL, CHEMICAL AND MATERIAL ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF VEHICLE AND MECHANICAL SYSTEM

FARM MACHINERY AND IMPLEMENTS

YEAR: 4TH

ACADEMIC YEAR 2018/2019

BY SIRAJ K.

CHAPTER 2: TILLAGE IMPLEMENTS

Farm Mechanization
 Farm Mechanization means use of machines and technology in the agricultural

sector.
 Farm mechanization has been helpful to bring about a significant improvement

in agricultural productivity.
 Thus, there is strong need for mechanization of agricultural

operations.
 The time taken to perform sequence of operations is a factor determining

the cropping intensity.

 In small and marginal farms, except for tillage, other operations such as

sowing/transplanting, weeding, cotton picking harvesting and

threshing (paddy) are normally manually performed.
Tillage Equipment
 Tillage: Mechanical manipulation of soil which is performed in order to
obtain a seedbed of desired and favorable for the seed emergence and crop
growth .
 Tillage operations are generally carried out before sowing or planting.
 The tillage can be classified in to two main categories,
a. Primary tillage
b. Secondary tillage
 Primary tillage: Ploughing which is opening of compact soil with tools
and implements.
 Primary tillage or ploughing is opening of the compacted soil as well as
reduce strength and also to cover the surface vegetation and/or
residue of previously grown crops with the help of different tools and
implements preferably by ploughs.
 Secondary tillage: To improve the seedbed by increased soil

pulverization, and to cut up crop residues, is accomplished by use of

various types of harrows.
 While plowing/ploughing cuts, granulates, and inverts the soil,

creating furrows and ridges, disking breaks up clods and surface crusts.
 Secondary tillage is any working completed after primary tillage and is

undertaken for
 reducing clod size,

 weed control,

 incorporation of fertilizers and

 leveling soil surface

Force analysis of tillage tools and their measurement:
 The engineers are concerned with the forces acting on a tillage implement

because of:
i) Total power requirements
ii) Proper hitching or application of pulling force
iii) Designing for adequate strength and rigidity
iv) To determine best shape and adjustment of tools
 A tillage implement (or tool) moving at a constant velocity is subjected to

three main forces or force system which must be in equilibrium. These are:
i) Force of gravity upon the implement
ii) The soil forces acting upon the implement
iii) The forces acting upon the implement and the prime mover
 If, P = Pull exerted by power unit has components in all the major planes
and associated with it is a couple.
 R = Resultant of all useful forces acting upon tool or implement.
 Let us resolve the forces in three components L, S, V.
 L = Horizontal component also called draft.
 V = Vertical component It removes load from the front wheel of tractor
and effects on tractive ability of tractor, stability and steerability.
 It helps in penetration and maintains working depth.
 S = Side draft force Maintains directional stability
 L = R cosθ cos
 V = R sinθ cos 
 S = R cosθ sin 
 Where; θ = Angle of inclination of ‘R’ in vertical plane with horizontal.
  = Angle of inclination of ‘R’ in transverse plane with horizontal.
 For mounted implements supported and pulled by tractor, this
 force P between implement & tractor in vertical plane is force containing L & V
component
 P = √(L2 +V2)

 P = √(R2 cos 2 θ cos 2 + R2 sin2 θ cos 2)

 P = √(R2 cos 2 ( cos 2 θ + sin 2 θ ))
 P = R cos
Mould Board Plough:
 This type of plough leaves no un-ploughed land as the furrow slices, cuts clean

and inverted to one side resulting in better pulverization.

Animal drawn mould board Tractor draw mould board

 Accessories and components of mould board
 Components/Parts of Mould Board plough:

 Plough bottom – The part of the plough which actually cuts, lifts, pulverizes

and through the soil out of the furrow.

 It is composed of those parts necessary for the rigid structure required to cut,

lift, turn, and invert the soil. Parts of the mould board plough bottom are,
a) Share
b) Mould board
c) Land side
d) Frog and
e) Tail piece.
 Share, landside, mould board are bolted to the frog which is an irregular piece

of cast iron.
 Share: It is that part of the plough bottom which penetrates into the soil and

makes a horizontal cut below the surface.

 Mould board: It is the curved part which lifts, turns, and pulverizes the soil

slice.
 Land side: It is the flat plate which presses against the furrow wall and prevents

the plough from lateral swinging.

 Frog: It is the part to which share, land side and mould board are attached.

 Tail piece: It is an adjustable extension, which can be fastened to the rear of the

mould board to help in turning the furrow slice.

Types of mould board
 There are various types mould board available that are suitable to the different

soil types and soil condition.

a. General Purpose type
b. Stubble type
c. Sod or breaker type
d. Slat type
 General Purpose type: This type of mould board is used for normal work.

 The surface of the mould board has gradual slope and is slightly convex.

It defines well defined furrow slice.

 Stubble type: It is short and broader mould board has abrupt (Sharp) curvature

along the top edge which causes furrow slice to be thrown over quickly
resulting in better pulverization as compared to other types of mould boards.
 This type of mould board is suitable for stubble soil in which plant residues of

previous crop are present. It is not suitable for high speed ploughing.
 Sod or breaker type: It is the longest mould board with greater twist along the

length to provide thorough turning and less pulverization.

 In general, it is used where complete inversion is required. It is used in tough

and heavy soils with weeds/trash or in grassy lands.

 Slat type: The surface of this type of mould board is made of slats placed along

the length of mould board so that there are gaps between the slats. It is done to
reduce surface area.
 It is best suited for sticky soils where other types of mould board do not rub

well.
b) Coulter: It is a 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.
c) 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.
d) Land wheel - It is the wheel of the plough which runs on the ploughed land.
e) Front furrow wheel - It is the front wheel of the plough which runs in the furrow.
f) Rear furrow wheel - It is the rear wheel of the plough which runs in the furrow.
Disc Ploughs:
 The disc plough is designed to work in all types of soil for basic functions such

as soil breaking, soil raising, soil turning and soil mixing. it is used open the
new fields and to process the stony areas. it can be used easily at rocky areas.
 Disc blade: Disc type blades are mounted for cutting of soil. Number of blades

and diameter determine plough capacity.

 Depth of cut depends on diameter of discs.

 About 1/3rd of blade diameter is the limit for depth. Width of cut depends on

diameter of blade.
 Width of cut is normally 0.4 times of diameter of disc blade.
 Plough Frame: Standards are attached to the plough frame. It has
provision for disc angle adjustment, adding or removing standard and
discs.
 Rear Furrow Wheel: To stabilize the plough and take side thrust, rear
furrow wheel is fixed at end.
 Bearings: Disc blades are at an angle to the direction of travel so both
radial and thrust forces are present. Radial forces push against an axle at
right angle while thrust forces push along the axis. That is why taper
roller bearings are used.
 Scraper: Device to remove soil that tends to stick to working surface of a
disc, for great pulverization to furrow slice, invert the furrow slice and
cover the trash better.
Reversible plough
 The plough is designed only for "Reversible Ploughing" by using right-

hand and left-hand plough bodies alternately, and for transportation

between the farm and different fields.
 The plough are equipped with a hydraulic stone trip system and can be

used in all types of soil.

 The turn-over mechanism is only used for altering the right and left hand

bodies between their working positions.

 The plough is to be attached to the three-point linkage at the front of the

tractor, with the hydraulic systems connected to the appropriated

hydraulic outlets
 Description of the plough
 Rotavators are powerful pieces of gardening machinery, often used in gardens,

allotments and fields, to breakup, churn and aerate the soil. Rotavators use a
set of blades or rotors which spin and break tough soil.
 A subsoiler or flat lifter is a tractor-mounted farm implement used for deep

tillage, loosening and breaking up soil at depths below the levels worked by
moldboard ploughs, or rototillers(subsoiler). Most such tools will break up
and turn over surface soil to a depth of 15–20 cm (6–8 in), whereas a subsoiler
will break up and loosen soil to twice those depths.
Secondary tillage implement
 Harrows: Harrows are used for shallow cultivation in operations such as
preparation of seedbed, covering seeds and destroying weed seedlings.
 Harrows are of two types:
 Disc harrow and
 Blade harrow.
 Disc Harrow
 The disc harrow consists of a number of concave discs of 45 to 55 cm in
diameter. These discs are smaller in size than disc plough, but more number of
discs are arranged on a frame. These discs are fitted 15cm apart on axles.
 Two sets of discs are mounted on two axles. All the discs revolve with axles.
The discs cut through the soil and effectively pulverize the clods.
 A disc harrow is a farm implement that is used to till the soil where are to be
planted. It is also used to chop up unwanted weeds or crop remainders.
 Disc harrows are farming implements used to prepare the soil for

planting or sowing by breaking up the clods and surface crusts, thus

improving soil granulation and destroying the weeds. They consist of
concave cutting blades (disks), mounted on a common shaft, that form a
gang.
 Blade harrow: The blade harrow does not go deep in the soil therefore,

can be used for killing weeds where only shallow ploughing desired. The
width of such type of harrow varies between 38-108cm.
Parts of disc harrow: 1. Frame; holds and supports the disc harrow
2. Disc; circular concave cutting blade made of steel. There are the two types of
discs:
 Smooth edge disc; also called plain edge disc; consists of plain discs used for

normal soil conditions

 Notched edge disc, also called cut-away discs or scalloped edge discs with

serrated edges; used for cutting crop residues and weeds

3. Arbor bolt; also called gang bolt, is a long heavy steel shaft on which discs are
mounted
4. Spool or spacer; component mounted on arbor bolet between every two discs
to retain their fixed position and prevent any movement of the disc
5. Bearings; essential for providing rotation of the gang and regulating the thurst.
6. Scraper; removes the soil from the disks, keeping the concave side of the disk
clean, thus preventing the clogging of the discs
7. Disc gang; each group of disks mounted on a common arbor bolt
with disc spacer, bearing, and bumper; may consist of 3 to 13 discs
8. Weight box; included on the frame to provide additional weight for
increasing the penetration of the disc into the soil
 There are various types of disc harrows. Regarding of the operation mode,

there are three different types of disc harrows:

 Single action disc harrow: It consists of two disc gangs arranged in opposite

directions, it throws the soil in opposite directions creating ridges and furrows.
 Double action disc harrow; also called tandem disc harrow: It consists of two

or more gangs, discs from the front gangs throw the soil in one direction, while
discs on the rear gangs throw the soil in the opposite direction.
 Offset disc harrow: It consists of two gangs in tendem ,capable of being
off -set to either side of the centre line of pull.
 The soil is thrown in in both directions, because discs of both gangs face
in opposite directions.
 There Harrow are usually designed for right hand off-set operation.
 In regards to the disc diameter, there are three different disc harrows:

 Light disc harrows; with a disc diameter of 20-30 cm

 Middle disc harrows, with a disc diameter of 30-50 cm

 Heavy disc harrows, with a disc diameter more than 60cm

 Spring tooth harrow: It is a harrow with tough flexible teeth, suitable to

work in hard and stony soils.

 Spring tooth harrow is fitted with springs having loops of elliptical shape.

 It gives a spring action in working condition.

 It is used in the soil when obstruction like stone, roots and weeds are hidden

below the ground surface.

 This pulverizes the soil and helps in killing weeds. This type of harrow mainly

consists of teeth, tooth bar, clamps, frame, lever and links.

 Usually the teeth are made of spring steel.
 Sometimes reversible points are provided so that one end may be used after the
other end is worn out.
 The teeth are fastened to the tooth bar by means of tooth clamps
 They are provided to give rigidity and support to the harrow.

 The levers are provided for setting the teeth for varying the depth of

harrowing.
 For light harrowing, the adjustment is done in slanting position.

 Draft hooks are there on each corner of every