Modeling of tillage operation parameters for draft and power requirement for three tillage implements in a loamy soil

Abstract

Tillage is the basic operation in agriculture and its energy requirements represent a considerable portion of the energy utilized in crop production. The trials were achieved using five tractor speeds (3.6, 5.4, 7.2, 9.0 and 10.8 km/hr) and five tillage depths (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 cm) to determine implement speed at different tillage depths for 3-bottom disc plough, spring tine cultivator and offset disc harrow on loamy soil. The design of the experiment used were two factors, five levels factorial of Central Composite Rotatable Design of Response Surface Method. Selected models were analyzed using ANOVA at ao. 05 and also validated. The high values of the coefficient of determination for all the selected models and the reasonable agreement between the predicted and actual values of draft and power requirement for all the tested implements show that the generated model equations can be used for predictive purposes for draft and power requirement.