Module 3

• Tillage


  The manipulation of soil for any desired purpose
• Agricultural Mechanization


  The development, manufacture and extension of appropriate agricultural tools, implements, and machinery using animal, human, mechanical, electrical, and other renewable sources of energy for agricultural production and development and postharvest operations
• Primary Objectives of Tillage

  • Elimination and permanent control of the original vegetation (weeds)
  • Creation of conditions favoring the germination and emergence and growth of the cultivated plants
  • Conservation and improvements of the soil as the growth medium cultivated crops
• Basic Operations of Tillage

  • Reduction of volume (compaction) of the soil
  • Cutting of soil
  • Shear plane formation (crumbling, pulverization) in the soil
  • Transport or movement of soil from one place to another place
  • Deformation of soil mass
• Land


  The ground or earth that has not yet been plowed
• Landside


  A part of the plow that rubs or rolls against the land furrow wall
• Furrow


  The space left in the land when the furrow slice is inverted or turned on its side
• Dead furrow


  The double furrow that comes together when you finished working a piece of land
• Backfurrow


  A high piece of turned earth covering some unplowed land, common when plowing with a one-way moldboard plow
• Furrow Crown


  A peak of the turned furrow slice
• Furrow Depth


  The ditch depth, path depth, trench depth or depth of depression below a specified soil surface
• Furrow Slice


  The soil mass cut, lifted, pulverized, inverted and thrown to one side of the plow bottom
• Headland


  The unplowed soil at the end of the furrow strip
• Ridge Height


  The bed height, hill height, windrow height, or height of the soil above a specified soil surface
• Root Bed


  The soil profile modified by tillage or amendments for use by plant roots
• Root Zone


  The part of the soil profile exploited by the roots of the plants
• Seedbed


  The soil zone which affects germination and emergence of seeds
• Primary Tillage


  An operation that constitutes the initial major soil working operation, normally designed to reduce soil strength, cover plant residues, and rearrange aggregates
• Moldboard Plow


  A sliding implement that cuts, lifts, inverts and throws to one side a layer of soil (furrow slice) to bury surface materials
• Components of a Moldboard Plow

  • Colter
  • Frame
  • Frog
  • Hitch
  • Landside
  • Landside heel
  • Moldboard
• Types of Moldboard Plow Bottoms

  • General-purpose moldboard
  • Slatted moldboard
  • Sod moldboard
  • Stubble moldboard
• Plow Bottom


  The plow body, working part of the plow which includes the share, moldboard, and landside, all attached to the frog
• Share


  The part of the plow that penetrates the soil and cuts the furrow slice horizontally
• Shin


  The leading edge of the moldboard located above the landside
• Standard


  The beam, leg or upright support which connects the plow bottom to tillage implement frame
• Suction (horizontal)


  The horizontal clearance, distance by which the point of the share is bent out of line with the landside to cut the proper furrow width
• Suction (vertical)


  The vertical clearance, distance by which the point of the share is bent downward for the plow to penetrate the soil to the proper depth
• Tailpiece


  An optional accessory, attached to the wing of the moldboard to improve inversion of the furrow slice
• Trash board


  An optional accessory, mounted above the shin, which deposits the upper edge of the furrow in the furrow bottom
• Classification of Moldboard Plows

  • Animal-drawn
  • Tractor-drawn (Two-wheel Tractor, Four-wheel Tractor - Tractor-mounted, Semi-mounted, Trailing)
• The maximum depth of cut of the plow at the recommended power range specified by the manufacturer shall be attained
• Approximate four-wheel tractor engine power for specific moldboard plow sizes under average operating conditions is given in Table 1
• Disk Plow


  An implement with individually mounted concave disc blades which cut, partially or completely invert soil slices to bury surface material, and pulverize the soil
• Components of a Disk Plow

  • Concave disc
  • Frame
  • Hitch
  • Scraper
  • Standard
• Side angle


  The disc angle, angle, in the soil surface plane, between a tool axis and a line, which is perpendicular to the direction of travel
• Tilt angle


  The angle, in a vertical plane perpendicular to the direction of travel, between a tool axis and the soil surface
• Width of cut


  The transverse distance between either the top or bottom cutting edges of the end discs
• Classification of Disk Plows

  • One-way Disc Plow
  • Reversible Disc Plow (Tractor-mounted, Semi-mounted)
• The thickness of the disc varies with the disc diameter, as shown in Table 2
• The concavity of the disc varies with the disc diameter, as shown in the table