4/6/2016 FM&E:Lesson7.

Tillage:objectives,methodsandterminology,introductionandclassificationofprimary&secondarytillageequipment

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Lesson7.Tillage:objectives,methodsandterminology,introductionandclassification
Home ofprimary&secondarytillageequipment
Sitepages
Currentcourse
Tillage:Itisthemechanicalmanipulationofsoiltoprovidefavourablecondition
FM&E
forcropproduction.Itbreaksthecompactsurfaceofearthtocertaindepthand
Participants
loosensthesoilmasssothatrootsofthecroppenetrateandspreadintothesoil.
General
These include ploughing, harrowing, mechanical destruction of weeds and
Topic1
breakingofsoilcrust.
Topic2
Topic3 Soil Crust:After sowing, if it rains the top layer of soil becomes so hard that
Topic4 seedisunabletogerminate.Thisstrongorhardtopsoiliscalledsoilcrust.
Lesson7.
Tillage:
objectives,
methodsand ObjectivesofTillage:
termin...
Lesson8.Study 1)Toobtaindeepseedbed,suitablefordifferenttypeofcrops.Agranularstructureis
ofmouldboard desirabletoallowrapidinfiltrationandgoodretentionofrainfall,toprovideadequate
plough:
accessories...
aircapacityandexchangewithinthesoil
Topic5 2)Tocontrolweedsortoremoveunwantedcropplants(thinning)
Topic6
Topic7 3)Tomanageplantresidues,thoroughmixingoftrashwilladdhumusandfertilityof
Topic8 soil,whileretentionoftrashonsurfacereduceserosion
Topic9
4)Tominimizesoilerosionbyfollowingsuchpracticesascontourtillage,listingand
Topic10
properplacementoftrash
Topic11
Topic12 5) To establish specific surface configurations for planting, irrigating, drainage,
Topic13 harvestingoperationetc.
Topic14
Topic15
6)Toincorporateandmixfertilizers,pesticidesorsoilamendmentsintothesoil
Courses 7) To accomplish segregation. This may involve moving the soil from one layer to
another,removalofrocksandotherforeignobjectsorrootharvesting.
ClassificationofTillage:Tillagecanbeclassifiedinto(a)primarytillage(b)secondary
tillage:
(a)PrimaryTillage:Theoperationperformedtoopenupanycultivablelandwitha
view to prepare a seedbed for growing crops, is termed as primary tillage. It is
normally designed to reduce soil strength, cover plant materials and rearrange
aggregates.Thevariousequipmentsusedforprimarytillagearemouldboardplough,
discplough,heavydutydischarrow,chiselplough,rotavatoretc.
(b) Secondary Tillage: Lighter and finer operations performed on the soil after
primary tillage, are termed as secondary tillage. These operations are generally
performed on surface soil. Very little inversion and shifting of soil takes place and
consequentlylesspowerrequirementperunitarea.Implementsaredisc/otherharrows,
cultivators,sweeps,tillersetc.
TypesofTillage:
Apart from these major primary and secondary tillage operations we often do tillage in
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4/6/2016 FM&E:Lesson7.Tillage:objectives,methodsandterminology,introductionandclassificationofprimary&secondarytillageequipment

someotherways.Thesedifferenttypesoftillagearediscussedasfollows:
(i) Minimum Tillage: Minimum soil manipulation necessary to meet tillage
requirementsforcropproduction.Themajorobjectivesare:
(a)Toreducemechanicalenergyandlabourrequirement
(b)Toconservemoistureandreducesoilerosion.
(c) To perform only the operations necessary to optimize the
soilconditions
(d)Tominimizethenumberoftripsoverfield
(e) Disadvantages:When surface plants residues are involved
insects are increased and effective chemical weed control is
essential
(ii)NoTillage:Inasingleoperation,sowingisdonewithouttillingitatall.Thisis
appliedwheremoistureconservationisrequired.Thesearesuitableintheareaswhere
heavyrainfallisthere.
(iii)StripTillage:Tillagesysteminwhichonlyisolatedbandsofsoilaretilled.
(iv)RotaryTillage:Tillageoperationsemployingrotaryactiontocut,breakandmix
thesoil,rotarytillersareused.Thesetillershavelowornegativedraftrequirements,
buttotalpowerrequirementsarehighandpulverizationmaybeexcessive.
(v)StubbleMulchTillage:Itinvolvescuttingtherootsofweedsandotherplantsand
leavingthecropresidueonthesurfaceormixedintothetopfewcentimetresofsoil.
Thisisdonetoreducewindandwatererosionandconservewaterbyreducingrunoff.
Mostly used in semiarid and arid zones. Special blade type subsurface tillers, v
shaped sweeps having cutting widths 0.6 to 2.4 m, straight blades, vertical disc
plough,discharrows,rotaryhoes,chiselploughs,cultivators.
(vi) Combined Tillage: Operations simultaneously utilizing two or more different
types of tillage tools or implements to simplify, control or reduce the number of
operationsoverafieldarecalledcombinedtillage.
FIELDCOVERAGEMETHODS
Ploughingistheprimarytillageoperation,whichisperformedtocut,breakandinvert
thesoilpartiallyorcompletely.
NormalPloughing:Itistheploughinguptoadepthofabout15cm.
ContourPloughing:Itisthemethodofploughinginwhichthesoilisbrokenand
turnedalongthecontours.
LandPloughing:Whileploughingthelandseparatestoplayerofsoilintofurrow
slices. The furrows are turned sideways and inverted to a varying degree,
depending upon the type of plough being used. It is a primary tillage operation,
which is performed to shatter soil uniformly with partial or complete soil
inversion. There are a few important terms frequently used in connection with
ploughingofland.

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4/6/2016 FM&E:Lesson7.Tillage:objectives,methodsandterminology,introductionandclassificationofprimary&secondarytillageequipment

Furrow: It is an open trench formed by an implement in the soil during field

operations.
BackFurrow:Araisedridgeleftatthecenterofastripoflandwhenplowingisstarted
fromcentertoside.Whentheploughingisstartedinthemiddleofafield,furrowslice
iscollectedacrossthefieldandwhilereturningtripanotherfurrowsliceislappedover
thefirstfurrow.Thisistheraisedridgewhichisnamedasbackfurrow
DeadFurrow:Anopentrenchleftinbetweentwoadjacentstripsoflandafterfinishing
theplowingiscalleddeadfurroworwhentwoopenfurrowscometogetheraswhen
youfinishworkingapieceoflandthatdoublefurrowiscalleddeadfurrow.
FurrowSlice:Itisthemassofsoilcut,liftedandthrowntooneside.
FurrowWall:Itisundisturbedsoilsurfacebythesideoffurrow.
Crown:Topportionofturnedfurrowslice.
Headland:Whileplowingwithatractorastripofunplowedlandisleftateachendof
thefieldfortractortoturn.Itistwicethewidthoftheimplement.Attheendofeach
trip,theploughislifteduntilthetractorandtheploughhaveturnedandareinposition

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4/6/2016 FM&E:Lesson7.Tillage:objectives,methodsandterminology,introductionandclassificationofprimary&secondarytillageequipment

tostartthereturntrip.Theheadlandisabout6metersfortwoorthreebottomtractor
ploughand1metremoreforeachadditionalbottom.

Methodsofploughing
Inordertoprovidefurrowsatalltimesontherighthandsideoftheploughtwo
methodofworkingareuseda)Gatheringb)Casting.

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4/6/2016 FM&E:Lesson7.Tillage:objectives,methodsandterminology,introductionandclassificationofprimary&secondarytillageequipment

a)GatheringWheneveraploughworksroundastripofploughedland,itissaidto
begathering(Fig.2a).
b)CastingWheneveraploughworksroundastripofunploughedland,itissaidto
becasting(Fig.2b).
Ploughingofafieldbycastingorgatheringaloneisnormallyuneconomical.The
followingareafewimportantmethodsusedintractorploughing.
i)Continuousploughingmethodand
ii)Roundandroundploughing
c)Continuousploughingmethod
In normal conditions, the continuous ploughing method is considered very
convenientandeconomical.Thismethodisusuallyusedwhenthetractorandplough
never run idle for more than three quarter land width along the headland and never
turninaspacenarrowerthanaquarterlandwidth.Inthismethod,firsttheheadlandis
markedandthefirstridgeissetupatthreequarterofalandwidthfromtheside(Fig.
3a).Theotherridgesaresetatfullwidthoverthefield.Theoperatorstartsploughing
betweenthefirstridgeandthesideland.Theoperatorcontinuestoturnleftandcastin
thethreequarterlanduntilaquarterlandwidthofploughingiscompleteoneachside
(Fig.3b).

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4/6/2016 FM&E:Lesson7.Tillage:objectives,methodsandterminology,introductionandclassificationofprimary&secondarytillageequipment

Afterthis,thedriverturnsrightandgathersroundthelandalreadyploughedon
the first ridge. Gathering is continued till the unploughed strip in first threequarter
landhasbeenploughedandcompleted.Thisgatheringreducesthefirstfulllandbya
quarter(Fig.3c).Theremainingthreequarterlandcanbetreatedinexactlythesame
mannerastheoriginalthreequarterland.Thisprocessisrepeatedforallotherlandsin
thefield.
d)Roundandroundploughing
Inthismethod,theploughmovesroundandroundafield.Thissystemisadoptedunder
conditions where ridges and furrows interfere with cultivation work. The field can be
startedvariouswaysasfollows:
1)Startingatthecenter:Smallplotismarkedinthemiddleoffieldandplowed
first.Afterthatplowworksroundthissmallplotandentireplotiscompleted.This
isnotveryeconomicalmethod.
2) Starting at outer ends: Tractor starts ploughing at one side of field and then
movesonallsidesofplotandcomesgraduallyfromsidestothecenteroffield.
Widediagonalsareleftunplowedtoavoidturningwiththeplough.Thereareno
back furrows in this method. Conventional ploughing is usually done by this
method.

3)2700turnsfromboundariesorcenters.

Lastmodified:Wednesday,19March2014,5:29AM

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