Implement Types and

Field Capacity
Tractor
• Farm equipment is any kind of machinery used on a
farm to help with farming.
• The tractor is a kind of specialized working vehicle
driven by a prime mover designed to perform work
with various types of field attachments mounted or
drawn by it.
• The farm tractor is suited for general farming
operations including tilling and other land
preparation works, pests and weed control, as well
as harvesting.
Tractor Implement
• A "farm implement" means any implement,
equipment, engine, motor, machine, combine,
tractor or attachment used or intended for use in
farming operations.
• Tractor implements may be towed behind or
mounted on the tractor and a tractor may also
provide a source of power if the implement is
mechanized.
Soil Cultivation
• Plow - used for initial cultivation of soil in
preparation for sowing seed or planting.
• The primary purpose of plowing is to turn over the
upper layer of the soil, bringing fresh nutrients to
the surface, while burying weeds and the remains
of previous crops, allowing them to break down.
• It also aerates the soil, and allows it to hold
moisture better.
Soil Cultivation
• Cultivator – used for stirring and pulverizing the soil
before planting or to remove weeds and to aerate
and loosen the soil after the crop has begun to
grow.
• It is powered by a tractor and stirs the soil, usually
to a greater depth than does the harrow.
Soil Cultivation
• Harrow – used in cultivating the surface of the soil.
• The purpose of this harrowing is to break up lumps
of soil and to provide a finer finish, a good soil
structure that is suitable for seeding and planting
operations.
• Harrowing may also be used to remove weeds and
to cover seed after sowing.
Soil Cultivation
• There are nominally three types of harrows: spike
harrows, drag harrows, disk harrows.
Soil Cultivation
• Rotary tiller (also known as a rototiller, rotavator,
rotary hoe, power tiller, or rotary plow) - a
motorized cultivator that works the soil by means
of rotating tines or blades.
• Rotary tillers are either self propelled or drawn as
an attachment behind a tractor.
Planting
• Broadcast seeder (alternately: broadcast spreader
or fertilizer spreader) - a tractor implement
commonly used for spreading seed, lime or
fertilizer.
Planting
• Seed drill – (grain seeder) - tool that is used in crop
sowing / planting.
• Its purpose is to sow the seeds evenly over the
entire surface.
• A seeder needs a
machine that pulls it
because it is not
self-propelled.
• Row spacing and the
depth of sowing can
be controlled.
Fertilizing & Pest Control

• Fertilizer spreader - used to distribute manure over

a field as a fertilizer.
• Slurry tank (slurry spreader) - a trailer with a tank
and pump which is used for slurry (combination of
manure and water) to fertilize the fields.
Fertilizing & Pest Control
• Sprayer - a piece of equipment that applies
herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers to agricultural
crops.
• Sprayers range in size from man-portable units
(typically backpacks with spray guns) to self-
propelled units similar to tractors.
Irrigation
• Centre pivot irrigation - a method of crop irrigation
in which equipment rotates around a pivot and
crops are watered with sprinklers
Harvesting / post-harvest
• Combine harvester, or simply a combine, - a
machine that combines the tasks of harvesting,
threshing, and cleaning grain crops.
Loading
• Loader
• Hay loader
• Trailer
Field Capacity of Farm Machines
• The field capacity of a farm machine is the rate at
which it performs its primary function
• Example, for field machines, the total area that can be
completed per unit time.
• For farmstead machines, their loading capacities or the
weight that can be processed per unit time
Field Capacity
• Theoretical Field Capacity – is the rate at which a
field machine will perform its intended function.
There is no allowance for loss of time and servicing.
𝑆𝑊
𝐶𝑇 =
𝐶𝐹
CT = theoretical field capacity ha/hr (acres/hr)
S = speed km/hr (mi/hr)
W = width of cut m (ft)
CF = 10 (8.25)
Field Capacity
• Effective Field Capacity – the average rate at which
a field machine covers a field. This includes
allowance for loss of time in turning and servicing.
𝑆𝑊𝐸𝑓𝑓
𝐶𝐸 =
𝐶𝐹
CF = effective field capacity ha/hr (acres/hr)
S = speed km/hr (mi/hr)
W = width of cut m (ft)
Eff = efficiency in decimals
CF = 10 (8.25)
Field Capacity
Field Efficiency
𝐶𝐸
𝐸𝑓𝑓 = x100%
𝐶𝑇
Eff = field efficiency
Range of
field
efficiencies
and
implement
operating
speeds
Formulas Used During
Calculations and Testing
Width of cut
W = WP/2n
W = width of cut
WP = width of plot
n = number of rounds
2 = number of trips per round
Formulas Used During
Calculations and Testing
Total distance traveled
D = A/W = 2nL
D = total distance traveled
A = area of the plot
L = length of the plot
Formulas Used During
Calculations and Testing
Effective area accomplished
Ae = wD = 2nLw
Ae= the effective area accomplished
w = width of plow

Actual field capacity

afc = Ae/ t
Sample Problem
• What is the theoretical field capacity of a machine
that travels at 5kph, has a 1.5m swath and operates
with an estimated field efficiency of 65%? What
about its effective field capacity?
Sample Problem
• A tractor pulling 3 moldboard plows, 40 cm width
and 20 cm depth of cut, plowed a field for 3 hours
running at 5.2 kph in a silty loam soil. If 20 minutes
were spent in turning and other service delays,
determine the following
a. Theoretical field capacity
b. Effective field capacity
c. Field efficiency
d. Distance traveled by the implement
e. Area of the field
Sample Problem
• Using the results of the calibration test of a
knapsack sprayer, determine the application rate in
l/ha. Effective width or swath is 1.5 m, average
walking speed is 20 m/min, and discharge rate is
1.5 l/min
Power Requirements
• Draft - force to propel an implement in the
direction of travel which is equal and opposite to
drawbar pull
• In tractor, the power
required to pull an
implement to perform
its intended function is
developed at the hitch
or drawbar.
• This is called the
drawbar horsepower
Power Requirements
Drawbar Horsepower
DHP = FS/ CF
DHP = drawbar horsepower W (hp)
S = speed km/hr (mi/hr) Tractor Horsepower
F = draft force kN (lbs) THP = DHP/0.8
F = WdSd
W = width of cut m (ft)
d = depth of cut m (ft)
Sd = specific draft, kN/m2 (lbs/ft2)
CF = 3.6 (375)
Power Requirements
• Specific Draft of Soil

Soil Type Specific Draft

psi kg/cm2 kPa
Sandy soil 3 0.21 20.59
Sandy loam 3-6 0.21-0.42 20.59 – 41.19
Silty loam 5-7 0.35-0.49 34.32 – 48.05
Clay loam 6-8 0.42-0.56 41.19 – 54.92
Heavy clay 10-11 0.70-0.77 68.65 – 75.51
Virgin soil, clay 12-15 0.85-1.06 83.36 – 103.95
Gumbo, moist 16-18 1.13-1.27 110.82 – 124.55
Dry adobe 18-20 1.27-1.41 124.55 – 138.27
Power Requirements
• Increase in draft due to speed.

Speed Draft increase

mph kph
1 1.6 100
2 3.2 114
3 4.8 128
4 6.4 142
5 8.0 156
6 9.6 170
Power Requirements
• If draft force of soil is not available, average pull
may also be determined from
Machine Force Factor
Lb/ft kN/m
Moldboard plow 850 12.401
Disk harrow 250 3.647
Planter 110 1.605
Cultivator 150 2.188
Mower 130 1.897
Baler 400 5.836
Combine 375 5.471
Sample Problem
• A drawbar dynamometer shows that the average
pull required for a certain machine is 2,800 lbs if
the tractor travels 1,000 ft in 3.5 mins. What is the
horsepower developed? What is the rate of travel
in kmph?
Sample Problems
• A 4-wheel tractor with 3x14 inches moldboard
plow is to operate on clay loam soil (specific draft
=0.56 kg/cm2) at a depth of 25.4 cm. The maximum
draft and percent increase in draft due to speed are
given below. Determine the drawbar horsepower to
perform the operation

Increase draft due to

GEAR SETTING SPEED (Kph) MAX. DRAFT (Kg)
speed (%)
1L 3.2 4,000 14
2L 4.8 3,100 28
3L 6.4 2,200 42
4L 8 1,300 56
Sample Problem
• Determine the hectares plowed per hour when a
tractor is operating at 6.4 kph and is pulling four
36-cm moldboard bottoms at a depth of 20 cm.
How many hectares can be plowed in 10 hours if
field efficiency is 78 percent? If the soil is clay
loam, what is the draft required working the soil?
Draft hp requirement? Tractor hp requirement?
Sample Problem
• What is the force required to pull a single
moldboard plow on a clay loam soil having a width
and depth of cut of 30 cm and 15 cm, respectively.
Soil draft is 8 psi. If the plow has an average speed
of 5 km/hr, what is the drawbar horsepower of the
plow.
Sample Problem
• A tractor pulling 3 moldboard plows, 40 cm width
and 20 cm depth of cut, plowed a field for 3 hours
running at 5.2 kph in a silty loam soil. If 20 minutes
were spent in turning and other service delays,
determine the following
a. Draft generated in pulling the implement
b. Drawbar horsepower
c. Tractor horsepower
Laboratory Exercise 2
• Field Capacity: Land Clearing
• Using a sickle, grass shears or a grass cutter, clear a
land area (at least 50 m2) and compute your field
capacity.
• Provide pictures