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Oduma, O.
Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria
Okeke, C. G.
Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu, Nigeria
Ekejiuba, V. N.
Federal College of Land resources Technology Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria
Ehiomogue, P.
Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria
Agu, C. S.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to develop a model that will predict the draft force of the disc plough and to ascertain the optimum draft necessities of the implement in sandy-clay soil at soil moisture content varying from 12.35% to 18.90% (w.b) corresponding to farming season, which will help farmers examine and select suitable plough for optimum production in Southeast Nigeria. Results indicated that the highest draft force of 3.051 kN/m was obtained when the plough was operated at working width of 60 cm, ploughing depth of 20 cm and speed of 7 km/hr. Statistical analyses showed that tillage depth and speed have a significant effect (p˂ 0.05) on the draft force of the plough as compared to the working width. The quadratic model was statistically significant for the response (P ˂ 0.05). The coefficient of determination; R2 of 0.9993 obtained indicated high correlations among the factors. The Predicted R² of 0.9888 was reliable with the Adjusted R² of 0.9984. The adequacy precision of 100.383 obtained indicated a decorous indicator and that the model could navigate the design space. The optimum draft force of 1.95kN/m was achieved with the desirability of 1.000 at an optimal working width of 119.06 cm, depth of 13.71 cm and speed of 7.74 km/h at the soil moisture content range from 12.35% to 18.90% (w.b). Farmers can appraise and select the disc plough with the developed model.
Keywords: Design Draft force, disc plough, farmers, tillage, sandy-clay soil
https://doi.org/10.33922/j.ujet_v10i1_3
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View: 142 | Download: 21
Published
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Issue
Vol. 10 No. 1, June 2024
Article Section
GENERAL
The contents of the articles are the sole opinion of the author(s) and not of UJET.
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