Performance evaluation of tractor operated spading machine

Abstract

Spading machines are agricultural machines designed for loosening and breaking up the soil. . The machine is made up of several spade shovels that are connected to a crankshaft. Spading machines are hitched to a tractor using the standard three point linkage and P.T.O driven. Spading machines incorporate residues, straw, compost, green manure etc during the tilling operation. This enhances the soil fertility, porosity etc. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential of the tractor operated spading machine and the specific objective of the proposed study is to evaluate the performance of tractor operated spading machine for the soil typical in Kerala. This study aims at evaluating the effect of varying soil conditions and operational conditions such as depth of operation and forward speed of the tractor operated spading machine on its performance with reference to parameters such as soil bulk density, soil strength (cone index), pulverization index (MMD), wheel slip, field capacity, fuel consumption and draft. A comparative analysis between the performance of rotavator and spading machine was also done as a part of this study. The travel speed and depth of operation were taken as the independent parameters and their effects on the variables such as soil bulk density, soil strength, pulverization index, field capacity, fuel consumption, wheel slip and draft were studied.