Influence of Aggregated Tillage Implements on Fuel Consumption and Wheel Slippage

Abstract

Enormous fossil fuel consumption and rising of CO2 exhaust gasses emission has serious influence on greenhouse effect and global climate warming. Nowadays rising fossil fuel prices are leading to an increasing of agricultural products value and awareness of energy efficiency importance. Soil tillage is the largest fuel energy consumer, so there is a need to conduct studies to innovate techniques which can lower fuel consumption. This study evaluates the effects of four different tillage treatments (CT - conventional, DH - disc harrowing, CH - chiselling, SS - subsoiling) on fuel consumption and wheel slippage. For this research a four-wheel drive tractor was aggregated with reversible plough, discs harrow and with subsoiler as tillage implements. The results indicated that fuel consumption was highest on CT and the lowest on DH treatment. CH treatment had the lowest wheel slippage percentage and average fuel consumption 19,7% higher than DH treatment in all three years of the study. Mean wheel slippage at CT, DH, CH, SS treatments was as follows: 17,54%; 21,47%; 8,64%; 23,56% respectfully. Wheel slippage at CT, CH and SS treatments was related to fuel consumption (as follows: 30,84 lha‒1, 12,92 lha‒1, 23,1 lha‒1) and all systems were affected by tillage depth.

Keywords

• conservation tillage
• conventional tillage
• fuel consumption
• reduced tillage
• wheel slippage