Tillage operations and equipment

What is Tillage?

Tillage, in agriculture, the preparation of soil for planting and the cultivation of soil after
planting. Tillage is the manipulation of the soil into a desired condition by mechanical means;
tools are employed to achieve some desired effect (such as pulverization, cutting, or movement).

Spike Tooth Harrow

cuts through clods, manure,and grasses to break up material into finer piecesso that it can be
spread evenly across the ground.This harrow does an excellent job of smoothinggarden plots,
fields, arenas, and landscapingareas.

Furrower

row cleaning devices often are misused whenplanting, creating a deep furrow, similar to that of
a lister.The main function of row cleaning devices is to removeresidue and weed seed from the
soil surface for easyplanting and not to till a deep furrow.

Rotavator

is a useful piece of machinery when it comes tosoil preparation. These versatile pieces farming
equipmentis a motorized machine which uses rotating blades to turnsoil.

Planting hole digger

tool for digging a planting hole forplanting a rooted plant in a garden or landscape area. Thetool
includes cutting edges that may be pressed into theplanting area by a user standing in an upright
position.

Rolling injection planter

manually operated, hasbeen used successfully for planting soybean and rice.Modifications were
made with the aim to use thisplanter for planting groundnut on ridges in irrigatedaSoil is tilled to
change its structure, to kill weeds, and to manage crop residues. Soil structure modification is
often necessary to facilitate the intake, storage, and transmission of water and to provide a good
environment for seeds and roots. Elimination of weeds is important, because they compete for
water, nutrients, and light. Crop residues on the surface must be managed in order to provide
conditions suitable for seeding and cultivating a crop. See also no-till agriculture.

Generally speaking, if the size of the soil aggregates or particles is satisfactory, preparation of
the seedbed will consist only of removing weeds and the management of residues. Unfortunately,
the practices associated with planting, cultivating, and harvesting usually cause destruction of
soil structure. This leaves preparation of the seedbed as the best opportunity to create desirable
structure, in which large and stable pores extend from the soil surface to the water table or
drains, ensuring rapid infiltration and drainage of excess or free water and promoting aeration of
the subsoil. When these large pores are interspersed with small ones, the soil will retain and store
moisture also.

Seedbed preparation procedures depend on soil texture and the desired change in size of
aggregates. In soils of coarse texture, tillage will increase aggregate size, provided it is done
when only the small pores are just filled with water; tillage at other than this ideal moisture will
make for smaller aggregates. By contrast, fine-textured soils form clods; these require breakage
into smaller units by weathering or by machines. If too wet or too dry, the power requirements
for shattering dry clods or cutting wet ones are prohibitive when using tillage alone. Thus, the
farmer usually attempts tillage of such soils only after a slow rain has moistened the clods and
made them friable.

Some soils require deepening of the root zone to permit increased rate of water intake and
improved storage. Unfavourable aeration in zones of poor drainage also limits root development
and inhibits use of water in the subsoil.

Tillage, particularly conventional plowing, may create a hardpan, or plow sole—that is, a
compacted layer just below the zone disturbed by tillage. Such layers are more prevalent with
increasing levels of mechanization; they reduce crop yields and must be shattered, allowing
water to be stored in and below the shattered zone for later crops. Tillage is also associated with
the loss of fertile topsoil through erosion, a serious threat to the longevity of arable land.

Primary tillage equipment

Equip
ment used to break and loosen soil for a depth of 15 to 90 cm (6 to 36 inches) may be called
primary tillage equipment. It includes moldboard, disk, rotary, chisel, and subsoil plows.

Disk plow

The disk plow employs round concave disks of hardened steel, sharpened and sometimes
serrated on the edge, with diameters ranging from 50 to 95 cm (20 to 38 inches). It reduces
friction by making a rolling bottom in place of a sliding one. Its draft is about the same as that of
the moldboard plow. The disk plow works to advantage in situations where the moldboard will
not, as in sticky nonscouring soils, in fields with a plow sole, in dry hard ground, in peat soils,
and for deep plowing. The disk plow bottom is usually equipped with a scraper that aids in
pulverizing the furrow slice. Disk plows are either trailed or mounted integrally on a tractor.

Disk Plow

Chisel Plow

Th
e chisel plow is equipped with narrow double-ended shovels, or chisel points, mounted on long
shanks. These points rip through the soil and stir it but do not invert and pulverize as well as the
moldboard and disk plows. The chisel plow is often used to loosen hard dry soils prior to using
regular plows; it is also useful for shattering a plow sole.
 Secondary tillage

Disc harrow

Secondary tillage, to improve the seedbed by increased soil pulverization, to conserve moisture
through destruction of weeds, and to cut up crop residues, is accomplished by use of various
types of cultivators, harrows, rollers, or pulverizers, and tools for mulching and fallowing. Used
for stirring the soil at comparatively shallow depths, secondary tillage equipment is generally
employed after the deeper primary tillage operations; some primary tillage tools, however, are
usable for secondary tillage. There are five principal types of harrows: the disk, the spike-tooth,
the spring-tooth, the rotary cross-harrow, and the soil surgeon. Rollers, or pulverizers, with V-
shaped wheels make a firm and continuous seedbed while crushing clods. These tools often are
combined with each other.

When moisture is scarce and control of wind and water erosion necessary, tillage is sometimes
carried out in such a way that crop residues are left on the surface. This system is called trash
farming, stubble mulch, or subsurface tillage. Principal equipment for subsurface tillage consists
of sweeps and rod weeders. Sweeps are V-shaped knives drawn below the surface with cutting
planes horizontal. A mounted set of sweeps provided with power lift and depth regulation is
often called a field cultivator.

The typical rod weeder consists of a frame with several plowlike beams, each having a bearing at
its point. Rods are extended through the bearings, which revolve slowly under power from a
drive wheel. The revolving rod runs a few inches below the surface and pulls up vegetative
growth; clearance of the growth from the rod is assisted by its rotation. Rod weeders are
sometimes attached to chisel plows.

Cultivator
Some control of weeds is obtained by tillage that leaves the middles between crop rows loose
and cloddy. On mechanized farms this is often accomplished with a cultivator pulled by a tractor.
When a good seedbed is prepared only in the row, the seeded crop can become established ahead
of the weeds. Plowing with the moldboard plow buries the weed seeds, retards their sprouting,
and tends to reduce the operations needed to control them. If weed infestations become bad, they
can be reduced somewhat by undercutting.

Minimum tillage

The use of cropping systems with minimal tillage is usually desirable, because intensive tillage
tends to break down soil structure. Techniques such as mulching also help prevent raindrops
from injuring the surface structure. Excessive tillage leaves the soil susceptible to crusting,
impedes water intake, increases runoff, and thus reduces water storage for crop use. Intensive
vegetable production in warm climates where three crops per year may be grown on the same
land may reduce the soil to a single-grain structure that facilitates surface cementation and poor
aeration.

Mulch Tillage

Mulch tillage is a system in which crop residues are left on the surface, and subsurface tillage
leaves them relatively undisturbed. In dryland areas, a maximum amount of mulch is left on the
surface; in more humid regions, however, some of the mulch is buried. Planting is accomplished
with disk openers that go through several inches of mulch. Since mulch decomposition may
deprive the crop of nitrogen, extra fertilizer is often placed below the mulch in humid areas. In
rainy sections, intercropping extends the protection against erosion provided by mulches.
Intercrops are typically small grains or sod crops such as alfalfa or clover grown between the
rows of a field crop that reach maturity shortly after the field crop has been established and
furnish mulch cover for a long time. See also green manure.

Soil dynamics and tillage relations

Soil dynamics is defined as the branch of knowledge that considers the motion of soil. Soil
movement results from man's attempts(1) to change prevailing soil conditions to those that are
more suitable or (2) to use soil for support, and locomotion of vehicles. The scope of soil
dynamics thus includes soil-machine relations in both tillage and traction. It is not restricted to
agricultural soils and problems since information on basic soil behavior is universally applicable.
Tillage is the agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as
digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools
include shoveling, picking, mattock work, hoeing, and raking.

Mechanical behaviour of agricultural soil

Mechanical behaviour of soil, soil mechanics the mechanical behaviour of granular materials.
Mechanical behaviour covers strength, shear stiffness, volumetric compressibility, and seepage
of water. Granular materials include powders, grain and other foodstuffs, mineral ores and
concentrates , as well as natural.

Types of tillage operations

Conservation tillage is a farming technique that involves reducing soil disturbance before crop
planting and maintenance.

It refers to a farming system where a minimum of 30% soil cover is maintained by leaving crop
residue on the soil surface after planting. When compared to conventional practices, minimum
tillage systems can reduce tillage passes by 40% or more.

Type Of Conservational Tillage

There are several types of conservational tillage:

1. Zone Tillage is aimed at reducing soil compaction issues and enhancing internal soil drainage
by agitating the soil. The method is intended to touch only a narrow strip of soil directly under
the crop row.

Zone tillage tills a narrow strip where the crop row will be planted, creating a raised bed, while
leaving the rest of the field undisturbed. Strip tillage, in contrast, tills a wider strip to create a
well-tilled seedbed for planting.

2. Strip Till involves a farming technique that consists of tilling a small, precise strip of soil
exclusively in the area where the crop is to be grown while leaving the soil between the rows
undisturbed.
The process usually involves tilling a shallow strip of soil, typically measuring 6-8 inches in
width and depth, that is utilized for planting crops.

3. In-Row Subsoiling is a technique used in agriculture to break up compacted soil layers

beneath the planting row, without disturbing the soil between other rows. This can be done by
specialized tillage implements allowing air, water, and nutrients to penetrate deeper into the soil
profile.

4. Ridge Tillage, the soil is loosened and shaped into ridges using specialized tillage
implements. Crop is then planted on top of these ridges, while furrows are left in between to
facilitate drainage of excess water. Planting on ridges can increase soil fertility, facilitate soil
warming and foster improved root development, ultimately leading to increased crop yields.

5. Mulch Tillage in the field of agriculture, the practices of mulch tillage are categorized under
the broader term of conservation tillage in the United States. It is practiced as a means of limiting
soil disturbance and supporting sustainable soil management practices. Mulch tillage is a method
of preparing soil for planting crops that involves the use of a tillage tool to manipulate the soil
while leaving a layer of organic material on the surface to serve as mulch.

6. Reduced Tillage reduced tillage refers to a type of tillage that involves minimizing the
intensity and depth of soil disturbance, as well as reducing the area of land that is tilled.

No-Till

No-till is a type of tillage system in which the soil remains undisturbed from the harvest until
planting, and crops are directly seeded into the previous year’s crop residue, without any plowing
or tilling of the soil.

Three main methods of no-till farming are;

 Direct Seeding
 Sod Seeding
 Surface Seeding

Conventional Tillage

Usually, conventional tillage includes a two-step process where the initial stage involves primary
tillage, and the subsequent stage involves secondary tillage, which typically requires the use of
harrows or disks.

Conventional agriculture practices, such as deep tilling, often involve moving the topsoil and
may touch the deeper layers of soil to some extent.
1. Primary Tillage is the initial phase of breaking up the topsoil and loosening the subsoil
through digging. It is also referred to as deep tillage and typically employs heavy equipment like
plows, chisels, or disks.

Its main objective is to create a favorable seedbed for planting. Primary tillage is usually
conducted in the fall or spring, prior to planting, and should not be repeated within the same
season to prevent over-tilling and soil degradation.

2. Secondary Tillage is the process of refining the soil surface and creating a seedbed suitable
for planting, which is done after the initial primary tillage. This type of tillage is achieved using
mechanical equipment like harrows or disks.

The objective of secondary tillage is to break up clumps of soil, level the surface, and incorporate
any remaining plant material or fertilizer, resulting in an ideal environment for seed germination
and plant growth.

3. Intensive Tillage refers to a method of preparing land for crop cultivation, which utilizes
heavy machinery to mechanically break up the soil and create a uniform seedbed that is suitable
for planting.

Tillage Implements

Tillage implements are broadly categorized into several groups depending on the purpose for
which they are use:

Primary Tillage implements

Implements used for opening and loosening of the soil are known as ploughs. Ploughs are used
for primary tillage. Ploughs are of three types: wooden ploughs, iron or inversion ploughs and
special purpose ploughs.

Wooden plough or Indigenous plough Indigenous plough is an implement which is made of

wood with an iron share point. It consists of body, shaft pole, share and handle. It is drawn with
bullocks. It cuts a V shaped furrow and opens the soil but there is no inversion. Ploughing
operation is also not perfect because some unploughed strip is always left between furrows. This
is reduced by cross ploughing, but even then small squares remain unploughed.
Soil Turning Ploughs are made of iron and drawn by a pair of bullocks or two depending on the
type of soil. These are also drawn by tractors.

Mouldboard Plough the parts of mouldboard plough are frog or body, mouldboard or wing,
share, landside, connecting, rod, bracket and handle. This type of plough leaves no unploughed
land as the furrow slices are cut clean and inverted to one side resulting in better pulverisation.
The animal drawn mouldboard plough is small, ploughs to a depth of 15 cm, while two
mouldboard ploughs which are bigger in size are attached to the tractor and ploughed to a depth
of 25 to 30 cm. Mouldboard ploughs are used where soil inversion is necessary. Victory plough
is an animal drawn mouldboard plough with a short shaft.

Disc Plough the disc plough bears little resemblance to the common mouldboardplough. A large,
revolving, concave steel disc replaces the share and the mouldboard. The disc turns the furrow
slice to one side with a scooping action. The usual size of the disc is 60 cm in diameter and this
turns a 35 to 30 cm furrow slice. The disc plough is more suitable for land in which there is
much fibrous growth of weeds as the disc cuts and incorporates the weeds. The disc plough
works well in soils free from stones. No harrowing is necessary to break the clods of the
upturned soil as in a mouldboard plough.

Turn-wrest or Reversible or One-way Plough

The plough bottom in this plough is hinged to the beam such that the mouldboard and the share
can be reversed to the left or to the right side of the beam. This adjustment saves the trouble of
turning the plough in hilly tracts, but yet facilitates inversion of the furrow slice to one side only.

SPECIAL PLOUGHS

Subsoil Plough: is designed to break up hard layers or pans without bringing them to the
surface. The body of the subsoil plough is wedge shaped and narrow while the share is wide so
as to shatter the hard pan and making only a slot on the top layers.
Chisel Plough: is used for breaking hard pans and for deep ploughing (60-70 cm) with less
disturbance to the top layers. Its body is thin with replaceable cutting edge so as to have
minimum disturbance to the top layers. It contains a replaceable share to shatter the lower layers.

Ridge Plough:

Ridge plough has two mould boards, one for turning the soil to the right and another to the left.
The share is common for both the mould boards i.e. double winged. These mould boards are
mounted on a common body. The, ridge plough is used to split the field into ridges and furrows
and for earthing up of crops. Ridge ploughs are used to make broad bed and furrows by attaching
two ridge ploughs on a frame at 150em spacing between them.

Rotary Plough or Rotary Hoes:

Rotary plough cuts the soil and pulverizes it. The cutting of soil is done by either blades or tynes.
The blade types are widely used. The depth of cut is up to 12 to 15 cm. It is suitable for light
soils.
 Secondary Tillage Implements

Different types of implements like cultivators, harrows, planks and rollers are used for secondary
tillage.

Tractor Drawn Cultivator:

Cultivator is an implement used for finer operations like breaking clods and working the soil to a
fine tilth in the preparation of seedbed. Cultivator is also known as tiller or tooth harrow. It is
used to further loosen the previously ploughed land before sowing. It is also used to destroy
weeds that germinate after ploughing. Cultivator has two rows of tynes attached to its frame in
staggered form. The main object of providing two rows and staggering the position of tynes is to
provide clearance between tynes so that clods and plant residues can freely pass through without
blocking. Provision is also made in the frame by drilling holes so that tynes can be set close or
apart as desirect. The number of tynes ranges from 7 to 13. The shares of the tynes can be
replaced when they are worn out.

Sweep Cultivator

In stubble-mulch farming, it is difficult to prepare the land with ordinary implements due to
clogging. Sweep cultivator is the implements useful under this condition. It consists of large
inverted V shaped blades attached to a cultivator frame. These blades run parallel to soil surface
at a depth of 10 to IS cm. They are armged in two rows and staggered. Sweep cultivator is used
to cut up to 12 to 15cm depth of soil during first operation after harvest and shallower during
subsequent operations. It is worked frequently to control weeds. It can also be used for
harvesting groundnut.

Harrows

Harrows are used for shallow cultivation in operations such as preparation of seedbed, covering
seeds and destroying weed seedlings. Harrows a~ of two types: disc harrow and blade harrow. '
Disc Harrow

The disc harrow consists of a number of concave discs of 45 to 55 cm in diameter. These discs
are smaller in size than disc plough, but more number of discs are arranged on a frame. These
discs are fitted 15cm apart on axles. Two sets of discs are mounted on two axles. All the discs
revolve together with axles. The discs cut through the soil and effectively pulverise the clods.

REFERENCES:

www.scribd.com

www.isalq.usp.br