Design and Performance Evaluation of a Mini Tractor Mounted Clod Crusher

Abstract

Clod formation following ploughing or disking is a major concern in India’s arid and semi-arid zones. Clod prevents seed - soil close contact and restrict the penetration of furrow openers used in the seed drilling. At present, the majority of the farmers in our country practice a small and marginal land system. Small-scale farmers can purchase small tractors, but smaller tillage implements suitable for mini tractors are not available in the market. To overcome the current problems in seedbed preparation, a mini tractor mounted clod crusher was developed. The developed implement was tested on the field and the data were analyzed statistically with ANOVA tests using computer software. The results showed that, overall best performance of the machine in terms of clod MMD, fuel consumption and field efficiency were found to be 9.25 mm, 7.696 l/h and 84.72 % at the forward speed of 3.0- 3.5 km/h with the dead weight of 100 kg respectively.