Analysis of Work Parameters of the Device for Hydraulic Removal of Weed Vegetation

Abstract

Introduction. The justification of parameters and introduction of new environmentally friendly technologies and technical means for weed control in the stalk zone is a pressing issue of major economic importance. The aim of the study is to justify the effective modes of operation trailer machine for the hydraulic removal weeds on the industrial plantation of horticultural crops. Materials and Methods. According to the analysis of existing technologies and technical means for weed vegetation removal from the stalk zone of garden plantings, a device for hydraulic removal of weed vegetation without the use of herbicides has been developed at Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM. To identify the most effective modes of operation of the machine on an industrial plantation of an apple orchard, a factorial experiment was conducted. Statistical processing of the obtained experimental results was carried out using mathematical modeling. Results. The statistical analysis of the factor experiment data showed that the following operating modes of the device are the most effective for performing the technological operation of hydraulic removal weeds: the distance between the soil and the spray head is 14.5 cm, the working fluid supply pressure is 759 bar, the movement speed is 2.4 km/h. The static treatment mode for estimating the penetration depth of the jets with exposures of 10, 5, and 3 sec showed a penetration depth of 62, 34 and 12 mm, respectively. The diameters of the track were: In the first case 350 mm external and 330 mm internal (cutting width 24 mm); in the second and third cases – 340 mm for the outer and 328 mm for the inner (cutting width 16 mm). Discussion and Conclusion. As a result of the experiment, it was established that the machine is able to provide high-quality processing stalk zone when using water from the central water supply. After the unit cultivated the soil, 90% which was covered with weeds, only 20–30% of the visible green mass remains, the rest is mixed with the soil. After doube cultivation, the root system of weed vegetation remained in 10–13% of the area. The device meets the requirements of the technological operation weed vegetation removal in the stalk zone without the use of herbicides with sufficiently high technological parameters.