Active-passive and passive-passive configurations of combined tillage implements for improved tillage and tractive performance: A review

Abstract

Proper selection of energy-efficient agricultural machinery helps to reduce drudgery, increase cropping intensity and reduce time required for field preparation. With conventional tillage implements, multiple passes are required to obtain desired seedbed which increase soil compaction due to repeated movement of tractor in field. With combined tillage implements two or more tillage implements are combined to reduce time and fuel energy required for seedbed preparation. In this paper, various researches on active-passive and passive-passive configurations of combined tillage implements have been discussed along with their working principles. It was found that these were associated with less draft, specific energy, and tire slippage compared to conventional implements which provides a sound basis for using them with suitable engine power to improve the power utilization of tractors. Hence, use of these implements could help to reduce soil compaction, labour, fuel cost as well as save time in preparing seedbed. More analytical studies and classical approaches are needed to predict energy requirements of these implements from the knowledge of individual energy requirements of conventional implements to help in proper matching of tractor-implement and also to develop decision support systems. Considering their promising outcomes, they will emerge as effective tools to improve agricultural mechanization.

Keywords

• Draft
• Torque
• Velocity ratio
• soil compaction
• agricultural mechanization
• tractor-implement matching