Epsilon Open Archive

Abstract

The main purposes with the two investigated new coulters are to save time and money, and with the Ekoodlaren (Eco cropper) also to reduce excessive compaction of the soil. The JB Special is an experimental machine which was built and constructed at the Division for soil tillage. The Ekoodlaren is a new implement constructed to prepare the seedbed, to seed, to fertilize and to row weed in single or combined operations. Their drilling and hoeing (only Ekoodlaren) qualities were examined at the Department of Soil Sciences in three series of field trials during 1991 and 1992. Two conventional machines were run in the trials together with those mentioned above. Two of the series, 'Seed coulters: Different tillage methods' (R2-5015) and 'Seed coulters: Minimized tillage' (R2-5016), were carried out at Ultuna near Uppsala. The third (R2-5017), concerning row hoeing in small grains, was carried out in the county of Östergötland. This report will include the main results of the 1991 and 1992 trials. Autumn seeding in wet conditions with the Ekoodlaren gave lower yields, compared to the other seeders, due to smearing of clods. The highest yields in the spring sown trials were obtained with JB Special. One explanation could be positive effects of the packing wheels on that machine. The packing improved the water transportation through restored capillarity . The 1992 row weeding trial (R2-5017) was not harvested because of draught and severe crop failure. However, hoeing reduced the number of annual weeds by 60 %. The different tillage systems had a strong effect on the function of the coulters. As a rule, more tillage gave a better seed placement and a more optimal soil aggregate size distribution in the seedbed. The experimental results were also in 1992 affected by a quick dry-up in the spring which created a hard layer at a depth of approximately 5 cm. This affected especially the ability of the Ekoodlaren to keep at an even working depth. However, of all the tested machines the Ekoodlaren was the one to hold a set depth most successfully.