TILLAGE & LAND

PREPARATION

En Mohd Fauzie Jusoh

Lecturer

Agriculture Technology Programme

Faculty of Agro-Based Industry

Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (Jeli Campus)

Locked Bag No.100, 17600 Jeli, Kelantan.

014-2903025/fauzie.j@umk.edu.my/

INTRODUCTION

Farm mechanization involves the use of equipment

mounted to the tractor to accomplish tasks previously

done by man or animals.

Plowing equipment attached to tractors and used

for land preparation.

Proper soil preparation is required for the growth of

seeds.

INTRODUCTION

Task can be done including :

Land clearing

Tillage and seedbed preparation

Fertilizer application

Broadcasting or drilling of seeds

Transplanting

Pest and disease control

Weed control

Harvesting

In-field transport of the harvested crop

INTRODUCTION

Advantage of using tillage equipment :

Various types of farm work can be done

Better quality of job can be obtained

Various type of farm soil can be cultivated

Working time can be reduced

Working schedule at farm can be arranged and smoothly

done

TILLAGE

Defined as mechanical modification of soil structure

resulting in a soil tilth that is suitable for seed germination

and plant growth.

Objective :

Provide a suitable environment for seed germination

Root growth, soil aeration, soil compaction

Weed control / Destroy Weed

Control Insect & Pest

Bury Stubbles (remain of previous harvest)

Moisture control

Soil erosion control

TILLAGE

Tillage machinery : Tools or implements used to do a

tillage job

SEEDBED

place where seeds germinate & nourish young plants

must be firm to allow seed to come in contact with soil

particles to absorb moisture

must be pourous to allow air to move, root

development, water movement

water will not easily penetrate hard soil to get to roots

SEEDBED CHARACTERISTICS

if soil is too loose, rain will wash away young plants

some soils have excess water

oxygen is needed by roots

plant residue on surface insulates, warms up slower,

also provides buffer against wind

CULTIVATION

Defined as an operation that requires some kind of tool

that will stir surface of the soil to a shallow depth in such

a manner that young weeds will be destroyed and crop

growth is promoted.

Usually begins soon after the emergence of young

seedlings as weeds generally emerge about the same

time as the crop

TILLAGE CLASSIFICATION

Primary Tillage

Tillage applied to break the

compaction soil into soil clods.

Secondary Tillage

Tillage applied to reduce the size of soil

aggregates and to level the soil

surface after done with primary tillage

PRIMARY TILLAGE

More aggressive, deeper operation and usually leaves

the surface rough

Function :

Loosen the soil structure

Bury the plant waste

Erosion control

Preparation for secondary tillage

Weed control

Kill pests

PRIMARY TILLAGE

Example of primary implements :

Moldboard Disc plough Rotary Tiller

Chisel plough Subsoiler or cultivator

SECONDARY TILLAGE

Works the soil to shallow depth

Function :

Break the soil clods

Shatters the soil clods

Level the soil surface

Harrow the soil and plant waste (stubbles)

Firm the soil

Kill weeds and helps conserve moisture

SECONDARY TILLAGE

Example of secondary implements :

Disc, spring tooth and spike tooth harrow

SECONDARY TILLAGE

Example of secondary implements :

Spring and rigid tined cultivators

SECONDARY TILLAGE

Example of secondary implements :

Roller pocket and roller harrows

SECONDARY TILLAGE

Example of secondary implements :

Weed control implement

CLASSIFICATION OF TILLAGE IMPLEMENTS

Mounted implements

Attached to the tractor by 3 point hitch linkages

Implements can be raised or lowered by the

hydraulic system

Example : A mounted 3 disc plough

CLASSIFICATION OF TILLAGE IMPLEMENTS

Semi-mounted implements

Attached to the tractor 2 point or 3 point linkage and

these implements are normally provided with

wheels to help in better performance of the

machine

Example : A seed drill – implement can be raised or

lowered

CLASSIFICATION OF TILLAGE IMPLEMENTS

Trailed implements

Attached to the tractor’s drawbar and this cannot be

raised or lowered

Implement trailed the tractor as it moves

Implement are heavy and usually provided with

wheels for easy hitching to the back of tractor and

better stability

Example : Trailed moldboard plough and trailer

DISC PLOW, ROTOVATOR, HARROW AND

RIDGERS.

PLOW

One of the oldest agriculture equipment and is

generally considered to be the most important

tillage tool

It is used to cut, turn up and break up soil while

turning over weeds

MOLDBOARD PLOW

Mostly used for primary tillage in seedbed

preparation

One way plow

Design to turn the furrow slices only to the right

MOLDBOARD PLOW

Two way plow

Has two sets of opposed bottoms that can be used

selectively

MOLDBOARD PLOW

All furrows can be turned toward the same side of

the field by using right hand bottoms for one

direction of travel and the left hand bottom on the

return

Used for plowing irrigated lands since it eliminated

back furrows and dead furrows and leaves the field

nearly level

DISC PLOW

Disc plow was brought out in an effort to reduce

friction by making a rolling bottom instead of a

bottom that would slide along the furrow

Consists of a series of individually mounted,

inclined disc blades on a frame supported by

wheels

DISC PLOW

Used when moldboard plow does not work satisfactorily

:

Hard disc soils

Stony fields

Soils containing heavy roots

Loose, push type soils and abrasive soil

Built with heavy frame and wheels; in a hard dry soil, a disc

plow can be forced into ground by its weight

ROTOVATOR

A semi mounted implement that rests on its own

land skids when at work

PTO drives a horizontal rotor in the same direction

as the drive wheels

Knives mounted to flanges spaced regularly along

the rotor will cut away soil slices which are then

thrown backward and upward against a rear hood

The impact will cause the soil slices to disintegrate

into fine aggregates

ROTOVATOR

The rotovator does not require the tractor to pull it

forward when it is at work

The action of the rotovator is very severe and it

should not be used indiscriminately especially in

sand soil – it may lead to the loss of soil structure

ROTOVATOR

DISC HARROW

Function :

Controlling weeds, cutting up and mixing stubble or

heavy crops with soil

For primary tillage in orchards and vineyards as

well as in open fields

Lighter units used in seedbed preparation

subsequent to plowing

DISC HARROW

Single Acting Disc Harrow

Has two opposed gangs of disc blades, both

throwing dirt outward from the center of tilled strip

DISC HARROW

Tandem Disk Harrow

Has two additional gangs that throw the dirt back

toward the center as second operation, thus tilling

the soil twice and leaving the field more level

DISC HARROW

Offset Disc Harrow

Has one right hand gang (i.e: a gang that moves

the soil to the right) and one left hang gang,

operating in tandem

CULTIVATOR

There are many different combinations of frames

and tines (shovels)

The common types are the standard rigid

cultivators (with or without spring), light or heavy

spring teeth and heavy coil spring

Cultivator with tooth equipment is used for weed

controls, seedbed preparation and other secondary

tillage operations

CULTIVATOR

CULTIVATOR

Spike Tooth Harrow

Used for finishing the seedbed by smoothing it and

breaking surface clods, particularly in mellow,

friable soil

Effective in killing small weeds

Covering broadcasted seeds

Breaking crusts that have formed over newly

planted crops

SPIKE TOOTH HARROW

CULTIVATOR

Spring Tooth Harrow

Has long curved teeth made from spring steel 6 -8

mm thick and usually 19 – 25 mm wide

Used in rough or stony ground

Useful for loosening and bringing roots of certain

obnoxious grasses and weeds to surface

For bringing clods to surface for pulverization

SPRING TOOTH HARROW

CULTIVATOR

Ridgers

Comes under field cultivators

Use to make seedbeds, ridges and furrows for

planting a crop

Double moldboard ridger or double disc ridger may

be used to form ridges or seedbed

It should be driven at higher speed so that the soil

can be thrown put enough to form the ridge

The ridging bodies can be adjusted to achieve

different spacing and bed width

RIDGERS

Moldboard Ridger Disc Ridger

RIDGERS

Ridgers may also be mounted to a rotovator so that

ridging occurs immediately after rotovation

Combining operations will save time, labour wages

and fuel consumption

TRANSPLANTER

CONSERVATION TILLAGE

The conventional tillage system is generallydiscredited for increasing erosion risk, acceleratingorganic matter decomposition, and deteriorating soilstructure. Therefore, conventional tillage is nowgiving place to newer concepts of conservationtillage in some regions of the world.

conservation tillage as any tillage and plantingsystem in which at least 30 per cent of the soilsurface is covered by residue after planting in orderto reduce soil erosion by water. Crop residues lefton the soil surface reduce soil erosion andconserve soil moisture.