Tillage is the process of mechanical modification of soil in farming practices. Tillage equipment modifies soil structure during various types of soil and tillage tool interactions that includes cutting, crushing, milling, beating, and rebound.
The consequence of soil and tillage tool interactions differs as per the characteristics of the tillage process such as width, speed, depth and practice of soil-engaging act, and the characteristics or condition of the soil that is being tilled, such as structure, texture, friability, moisture, and plasticity. Tillage equipment works to modify soil structure by various mechanical processes like compression, tension and shear. Several tillage operations are performed to loosen and regulate soil in the tillage zone while other tillage operations are designed to form or shape soil. Some of the outcomes of tillage operations are intentional while others can be unintentional, such as the development of a plough pan, increased exposure to erosion and compaction. Types of Tillage Primary Tillage – The purpose of using primary tillage equipment such as disc plough, the mould-board plough is to prepare a soil condition so that a perfect seedbed can be created using secondary tillage equipment. Mould-board plough and disc ploughs invert the soil in a plough layer, causing the burial of crop residues. Soil tilling is usually less than 6 inches deep. Primary tillage is essential where the existing soil conditions obstruct the success of secondary equipment. A perfect seedbed can be prepared using Rotary tillers or rotavator in only one pass. Secondary Tillage – Secondary Tillage equipment such as disc harrow, power harrow and power tillers are used to prepare the seedbed. The process includes levelling, pulverizing and residue burial. S Cultivators - Cultivators are used to undercutting or removing weeds growing between the wide rows of planted crops planted. Conservation tillage - Conservation tillage is performed to maintain at least thirty percent of crop residue or the small grain residue on the surface during the grave soil erosion period. Planters and Seeders – Seeders and Planters are used to open soil and inserts seeds and firm soil. The main purpose of using it is to achieve perfect soil and seed contact and desired depth and spacing for plants. Planters and seeders are suitable for vegetable production farms. No-tillage or zero tillage is used to plant seeds with minimum tillage. Tools to manage surface residue – Various tools and equipment are used for residue management, killing cover crops, mulching and spreading materials on the soil surface.
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Farm equipment and machinery help to make farming operations more easy and effective. Many of these are designed to a number of functions. Before planting seeds into the ground a farmer needs to prepare the soil for it. This very first step in the farming process is called tillage and the agricultural machinery used in the process are known as tillage equipment. Few of these are explained below-
Cultivator A cultivator works for preparing the soil or seedbed in dry and wet both types of soils. It is also used for puddling purposes. It stirs and pulverizes the soil, before planting and also remove weeds to aerate and loosen the soil. A cultivator is also used for easy application of fertilizer and pesticides through the secondary tillage process. This tillage equipment is useful in subsoil cultivation and eliminates the use of plough even for hard soil conditions. Harrow Harrow is one of the primary tillage equipment, used to create furrows and level the ground. There are some models as per the need such as moldboard, high speed disc harrow, surface or subsoil. A harrow is designed to break up lumps in the soil. The pieces of trash are removed by a harrow. It works as an attachment to the tractor and includes the teeth with a metal or wooden frame. Plough The plough is the farm equipment that is as old as farming. A country plough was designed to break up and level soil, even in heavy crop residue. The modern plough has several models to work for different soil conditions. It is used to open furrows as well as killing the weeds. Several types of modern plough used in farming are - mould-board plough, disc plough, reversible mould-board plough, mounted disc plough. Rotavator or Rotary Tiller Rotavator or Rotary Tiller is used to loosen the upper layer of the soil before mixing the fertilizers into the soil. This is one of the modern tillage equipment used in making seedbed and helping to improve the productivity and efficiency of the farm. Rotavator upturns the potential of the soil for effective crop growth in the field. Zero Tillage or no Till A zero tillage or no-till equipment is used in the areas where there is a minimum to zero requirements of tillage. It directly spreads the seeds into the soil creating furrow creating a minimum disturbance. New technologies and innovations in agriculture fields have created more options than before, as farmers are using modern farming methods and farm equipment to get the most out of their land. The soil quality does matter for getting good quality crops. And managing soil through tillage equipment is making farming more efficient. The objective of using farm equipment and machinery in agricultural activities is to reduce human efforts in farming practices. Modern farmers prefer using tools, machinery and equipment to improve their farms' production and reduce their efforts as well. Modern farm equipment includes a series of mechanical equipment used as tractor implements. These equipment and agricultural machinery are used in different step by step processes of farming such as ploughing, seeding, planting and harvesting. This is a list of farm equipment used most all over the world and making a farmer’s life easier.
Plough Plough or plow is very common and widely used equipment since the beginning of farming. With time this old age equipment has now changed and improved a lot. Multiple types of plough such as mould-board plough, disc plough, and reversible mould-board plough are used for different purposes while ploughing the fields. Use of a plough also depends on the soil conditions of a particular place. Harrow A harrow not only breaks the clods in the soil but also kills the weeds and wild vegetation. Most of the farm equipment manufacturer offers a wide range of harrowing equipment to accomplish various tasks in the process of soil management. The most commonly used harrow are high-speed disc harrows, heavy-duty hydraulic harrow etc. Rotavator or Rotary Tiller A rotary tiller or rotavator is one of the primary tillage equipment used in the soil management or preparation before planting the seeds. The main purpose of using a rotavator in ploughing is to break the clods in the soil, giving it a smooth structure and making ideal for seeding. Combine Harvester Harvesting is a crucial task for any farmer, as the full-grown crops are needed to be handled very carefully in the harvesting process. And the harvesting time is pay off time for farmers for all hard work. The modern combine harvester has made this difficult task quite easier by combining all processes of harvesting – from cutting to winnowing in one single step. A farmer can now easily depend on the efficiency of modern harvester machines for a better quality of food and grains that also allow them to sell their produce at profitable prices. There is a lot more farm machinery that is used worldwide in farming. So keep exploring about the most useful and upgraded farm machinery and their benefits. The greater knowledge about the benefits of using agricultural machinery and tools can open the chances of more success and profitability. When every sector on the outset is seeing new innovation and practices, agriculture industry ought to have some. The modern era of farming as of now, farmers can sit down inside their air-conditioned vehicles or easily operational machinery that will tend their farmed crops. What makes the farm machinery so essential for a farm is the way they help out a farmer with toughest farming operations in the production of crops. What was once used to be a barren land has now started producing fresh fruits just due to the use of agricultural equipment. A farmer helps feed the world and with the help of machinery they are able to produce more crops in minimum time. To know about the usage it offers to the land, read about some essential machinery below. Plough Since the time, the human started farming, the plough has been the key to successful farming. A plough is a tool that even works best for the heavily sodded ground. It helps farmers transforming the toughest rocky lands into an ideal seedbed. Plough is the most essential agriculture machinery in farming to start from a scratch, to till the stony, trashy, rocky or rooted areas. A Plough used as a tractor implements breaks up the soil, exposes it to air and sunlight, which is required for normal plant growth. There are different modern plough types used in modern farming including – Disc plough, MB plough or mould- board plough, reversible mould-board plough, chisel plough etc. Combine Harvester A combine harvester is one of the most modernized and versatile harvester machines to be used in the harvesting process of a variety of crops. They are able to perform harvesting in minimum time by combining the main three steps of harvesting such as cutting, threshing and winnowing into a single process. This is also the reason why they are known as a Combine. Various crops harvested using a combine harvester universally are wheat, barley, oats, corn, sunflower, rice, soybean etc. A combine harvester saves the crucial time of harvesting as well as a great deal of hard labour for the farmers. Rotavator or Rotary Tiller Rotary tiller also has known as the rotavator, rotary plough or rotary hoe is used to plough the soil with its rotating blades. This can be used as independent farm equipment or machinery or can be also be used as a tractor attachment for tilling purposes. Most of the mechanized farms nowadays use tractor attached rotary tillers to till the soil, whereas independent rotary tillers or rotavators are used in most domestic farms. Seed Drills or Seeding Equipment Seed drills are also one of the mechanized seeding equipment used in farming for placing seeds in an even manner on the fields with minimal disturbance to the soil. Generally used for crops like grasses, grains or forage, these are two types – disc seed drills or zero-till. In a zero-till seed drill, no-tilling is needed to the soil, the furrow opener blade cuts through the soil and creating furrows for planting seeds while seeding with a traditional seed drill needs some form of tilling the soil before placing the seeds into the field. Seed drills one of the most commonly used agricultural machinery and equipment. The advanced farm technologies help farmers to achieve great yields in minimum time in crop harvesting. Furthermore, it also saves the hard work of farmers with the appliance of mechanized equipment for farming. Farm mechanization is all about the use of engineered equipment and technology in farming operations in the agricultural sector, to improve and increase productivity. This contains improving the use and management of all agricultural machinery and tools for field production, water system, material handling, processing and storing. Such mechanical tools include various hand tools, animal pulled equipment, tractors, power tillers, electric motors, engines, combine machine, processing and hauling equipment Scope of Farm Mechanization in India- In a country like India where most of the population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood, farm mechanization has a good scope. The following factors can be considered to explain it: · Better-quality irrigation facilities in the country. · Use of high yielding assortments of seeds. · Use of high dose of pesticides and fertilizers for different types of crops. · Harvesting of a wide range of crops in different parts of the country. · Various cropping structure and intensive cultivation followed in different regions of the country. Several other factors are significantly responsible for the increasing farm mechanization are: · The population countrywide is increasing very fast every year. Necessary steps are required to produce food and grain for such a large population by implementing intensive farming techniques in the country. And the intensive farming techniques require farm machines on the farm. · In numerous cropping programs, where a great yielding range of seeds is used, all farming operations are supposed to be completed in restricted time within the budget and efficiency. Achieving this is only possible with applying mechanization in the agriculture sector. · Farm mechanization helps to reduce the hard work of farmworkers to a great extent. A farmer needed to walk many km to plough 1 acre of land only once with a country plough with a limited furrow width. But with the latest mould-board plough and reversible mouldboard plough, used as a tractor implement a land can be ploughed in few hours time. · In a country like India, a large number of women and children used to work on farms. The increased mechanization allowed women to stay and work at home, while children can go to school. · The perfect and suitable utilization of basic sources required for cultivating like water, fertilizers and seeds are possible with the use of suitable farm equipment. · Certain operations are quite difficult to be accomplished by only animal power or human farmworkers like: I. Deep plough in case of rooted crops. II. Killing the weeds by deep tilling equipment. III. Levelling of uneven land. IV. Land renovation. V. Use of pesticides in epidemic seasons. These types of operations require heavy mechanical farm equipment. VI. Modern harvesting equipment like a multi-crop harvester and combine harvester allows farmers to complete the harvesting of crops and grains on time with minimized labour cost. Benefits of Farm Mechanization: There are a number of benefits of farm mechanization: 1) Saves time for the farm operations 2) The precision of farming operation 3) Efficiency of work 4) Safety enhancement 5) Help in reducing the drudgery of labour 6) Help in reducing damage to the crops and grains 7) Help in increasing productivity of land 8) Increased returns on the farmers’ investment 9) Progress in farmers income Farm equipment are tools and machinery used in farming operations in agriculture. There are plenty of options in the market for buying farm equipment and make your smarter. All you need is to know about the machinery that will help you most even in a limited budget. Here is a list of equipment that a farmer should have to maintain his farm efficiently. Tractor Tractors are one of the most important and versatile farm machinery that not only help you with transporting goods on your farm but also work to pull various tractor implement, such as plough, rotavator, seeders, hay balers etc. As per your requirement choose the right one, as these are available in different sizes and tractor power. Combine Harvester A combine machine or combine harvester is the largest and most significant equipment and have taken the entire harvesting job away from farmers. Tractors indeed accomplish the major activities on a modern mechanized farm, but in the harvesting season a combine harvester does the reaping, threshing and winnowing the crop altogether. Grain farmers that grow wheat, barley, rye, oats, flax, corn and soybeans on their farm absolutely need multi-crop combine harvester for harvesting these grain crops and getting the grains out of the field most efficiently. Plough Plough, is a tillage implements that is majorly used worldwide as a tractor implement to prepare the soil before sowing. It breaks up the soil, giving a smooth structure, killing weeds or competing plants same time. With the increasing Mechanization plenty of farm equipment manufacturing industries offer various types of Plough with different functionalities to be used in different soil conditions. One of such industries is Fieldking that offer a wide range of plough, including reversible MB plough or Mould board plough, disc plough etc. Rotavator A rotary tiller or rotavator is also one of the tillage equipment used to prepare the soil for planting. Used as a tractor attachment it works on the upper layer of the soil. It spinning blades attached to either the front or rear of a tiller make the soil suitable for seeding by cutting the clods in the soil. Seeders and Planters Seeders are used as tractor implements to insert the seeds into the field while minimizing soil disturbance. It makes seeding highly efficient and also used to spread fertilizers. A seeder includes different boxes for seeds and fertilizer that are effectively sown at equal spaces and proper depth going through the tubes attached to the boxes. |
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