Design, development and field evaluation of row-cleaners for strip tillage in conservation farming

Abstract

Given the drawbacks of conventional soil tillage and direct drilling, an environmentally friendly technology of strip-tillage has been gaining increasing popularity worldwide because it allows the employment of full tillage and direct drilling advantages. Strip-tillage compared to the direct drilling is a good option for proper seedbed preparation because it ensures favourable conditions for seed germination; in comparison with full tillage it reduces working time, fuel and production costs, protects soil, and is environmentally friendly. To remove plant residues from a tilled soil strip row, cleaners of different shapes are used. There is a lack of knowledge regarding which design and technological parameters of the row cleaners of strip-tillage equipment are best suited for interaction with soil and plant residues. Therefore, theoretical research of 340 mm serrated disc row cleaners was carried out, which substantiated the strip width while assessing the disc rake angle, gap between the centres of row cleaner disc fixing holders (gap Blc) and working speed. The experimental research was carried out in the Trial Station of Aleksandras Stulginskis University; it established the influence of different technological parameters of row cleaners on the distance of wheat residue removal. The experimental research established that the serrated disc row cleaners of a strip-tillage machine cleans the greatest amount of plant residues; when the rake angle of the cleaner discs varies from 10° to 15°, gap Blc is 165–180 mm, and the working speed ranges from 1.3 m s1 to 2.5 m s1.