List of agricultural machineryFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A modern John Deere 8110 Farm Tractor plowing a field using a chisel plow.

Agricultural machinery is any kind of machinery used on a farm to help with farming. The best-known example of this kind is the tractor.

Traction and power Tractor Crawler tractor / Caterpillar tractor

Soil cultivation Cultivator Cultipacker

Chisel plow

Harrow

o Spike harrow

o Drag harrow

o Disk harrow

Plough

Power tiller / Rotary tiller / Rototiller

Spading machine

Subsoiler

Walking tractor

Stone Picker , also known as a Rock Picker

Planting

A plough in action in South Africa. Notice the soil being turned over. Broadcast seeder (alternately: broadcast spreader or fertilizer spreader) Planter (farm implement)

Plastic mulch layer

Potato planter

Seed drill

Air seeder

Precision drill

Transplanter

o Rice transplanter

Fertilizing & Pest Control Fertilizer spreader, see broadcast seeder Terragator

Manure spreader

Sprayer

Irrigation Center pivot irrigation

Harvesting / post-harvest

Case IH Module Express 625 picks cotton and simultaneously builds cotton modules. beet harvester Bean harvester

Cane Harvester

Chaser Bin

Combine harvester

Conveyor belt

Corn harvester

Cotton picker

Fanning mill

Forage harvester (or silage harvester)

Gleaner

Gravity wagon

Haulout Transporter

Huller

Over-the-row mechanical harvester for harvesting apples

Potato digger

Potato harvester

Sickle

Swather

Hay making

Round baler in actionSee also: hay

Bale mover Baler and Big Baler

Conditioner

Hay rake

Hay tedder

Mower

Loading Backhoe Front end loader

Skid-steer loader

Other

A "backhoe loader"A restored JCB 3C MkII, showing the conventional arrangement of front loader and backhoe

A skid loader with its bucket replaced by backhoe attachment Allen Scythe Grain auger

Feed grinder

Grain cart

Rock picker

Obsolete farm machinerySteam-powered:

Stationary steam engine Portable engine

Traction engine

o Agricultural engine

o Ploughing engine

o Steam tractor

Binder

Hog oiler

Reaper

Threshing machine

Drag harrow

TractorFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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For other uses, see Tractor (disambiguation).This article may require copy-editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling. You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available. (February 2009)

A modern European farm tractor

Cutaway of modern tractor

A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction. Most commonly, the term is used to describe the distinctive farm vehicle: agricultural implements may be towed behind or mounted on the tractor, and the tractor may also provide a source of power if the implement is mechanised. Another common use of the term is for the power unit of a semi-trailer truck.

The word tractor was taken from Latin, being the agent noun of trahere "to pull". [1],[2]. The first recorded use of the word meaning "an engine or vehicle for pulling wagons or ploughs" occurred in 1901, displacing the earlier term traction engine (1859).[3]

The first tractors were steam-powered ploughing engines. They were used in pairs either side of a field to haul a plough back and forth between them using a wire cable.

o

National variationsIn Britain, Ireland, Australia, India, Spain, Argentina and Germany the word "tractor" usually means "farm tractor", and the use of the word "tractor" to mean other types of vehicles is familiar to the vehicle trade but unfamiliar to much of the general public. In Canada and the US the word may also refer to the road tractor portion of a tractor trailer truck.

HistoryThe first powered farm implements in the early 1800s were portable engines – steam engines on wheels that could be used to drive mechanical farm machinery by way of a flexible belt. Around 1850, the first traction engines were developed from these, and were widely adopted for agricultural use. Where soil conditions permitted, like the US, steam tractors were used to direct-haul ploughs, but in the UK and elsewhere, ploughing engines were used for cable-hauled ploughing instead. Steam-powered agricultural engines remained in use well into the 20th century, until reliable internal combustion engines had been developed.[4]

In 1892, John Froelich built the first practical gasoline-powered tractor in Clayton County, Iowa. Only two were sold, and it was not until 1911, when the Twin City Traction Engine Company developed the design, that it became successful.

In Britain, the first recorded tractor sale was the oil-burning Hornsby-Ackroyd Patent Safety Oil Traction engine, in 1897. However, the first commercially successful design was Dan Albone's three-wheel Ivel tractor of 1902. In 1908, the Saunderson Tractor and Implement Co. of Bedford introduced a four-wheel design, and went on to become the largest tractor manufacturer outside the USA at that time.

A 1920 International Harvester tractor, showing features inherited from earlier steam tractor designs.

While unpopular at first, these gasoline-powered machines began to catch on in the 1910s when they became smaller and more affordable. Henry Ford introduced the Fordson, the first mass-produced tractor in 1917. They were built in the U.S., Ireland, England and Russia and by 1923, Fordson had 77% of the U.S. market. The Fordson dispensed with a frame, using the strength of the engine block to hold the machine together. By the 1920s, tractors with a gasoline-powered internal combustion engine had become the norm.

The classic farm tractor is a simple open vehicle, with two very large driving wheels on an axle below and slightly behind a single seat (the seat and steering wheel consequently are in the center), and the engine in front of the driver, with two steerable wheels below the engine compartment. This basic design has remained unchanged for a number of years, but enclosed cabs are fitted on almost all modern models, for reasons of operator safety and comfort.

Originally, plows and other equipment were connected via a drawbar, or a proprietary connecting system; prior to Harry Ferguson patenting the three-point hitch. Recently, Bobcat's

patent on its front loader connection has expired; and compact tractors are now being outfitted with quick-connect attachments for their front-end loaders.

Larger types of modern farm tractors include articulated four wheel or eight wheel drive units with one or two power units which are hinged in the middle and steered by hydraulic clutches or pumps. In the early 21st century, articulated or non-articulated, steerable multi-track "tractors" have largely supplanted the two-track clutch-steered "Caterpiller" type for farm use. These tractors bear little resemblance to the classic farm tractor design.

A modern steerable all-tracked power unit planting wheat in North Dakota

A variety of specialty farm tractors have been developed for particular uses. These include "row crop" tractors with adjustable tread width to allow the tractor to pass down rows of corn, tomatos or other crops without crushing the plants, "wheatland" or "standard" tractors with non-adjustable fixed wheels and a lower center of gravity for plowing and other heavy field work for broadcast crops, and "high crop" tractors with adjustable tread and increased ground clearance, often used in the cultivation of cotton and other high-growing row crop plant operations, and "utility tractors", typically smaller tractors with a low center of gravity and short turning radius, used for general purposes around the farmstead. Many utility tractors are used for non-farm grading, landscape maintenance and excavation purposes, particularly with loaders, backhoes, pallet forks and similar devices. Small garden or lawn tractors designed for suburban and semi-rural gardening and landscape maintenance also exist in a variety of configurations.

Operation

A lawn tractor towing a cargo cart

Modern tractors has many electrical switches and levers in the cab for controlling the multitude of different functions available on the tractor.

Pedals

Modern farm tractors usually have five foot-pedals for the operator on the floor of the tractor.

The pedal on the left is the clutch. The operator presses on this pedal to disengage the transmission for either shifting gears or stopping the tractor. Some modern tractors have (or as optional equipment) a button on the gear stick for controlling the clutch, in addition to the standard pedal.

Two of the pedals on the right are the brakes. The left brake pedal stops the left rear wheel and the right brake pedal does the same with the right side. This independent left and right wheel braking augments the steering of the tractor when only the two rear wheels are driven. This is usually done when it is necessary to make a tight turn. The split brake pedal is also used in mud or soft dirt to control a tire that spins due to loss of traction. The operator presses both pedals together to stop the tractor. For tractors with additional front-wheel drive, this operation often engages the 4-wheel locking differential to help stop the tractor when travelling at road speeds.

A pedal just in front of the seat operates the rear differential lock (diff lock) which prevents wheelslip. The differential allows the outside wheel to travel faster than the inside one during a turn. However, in traction conditions on a soft surface the same mechanism could allow one wheel to slip, thus preventing traction to the other wheel. The diff lock overrides this, causing both wheels to supply equal traction. Care must be taken to unlock the differential, usually by hitting the pedal a second time, before turning, since the tractor cannot perform a turn with the diff lock engaged. In modern tractors this function is sometimes migrated from pedal to electrical switch.

The pedal furthest to the right is the foot throttle. Unlike in automobiles, it can also be controlled from a hand-operated lever ("hand throttle"). This helps provide a constant speed in field work. It also helps provide continuous power for stationary tractors that are operating an implement by shaft or belt. The foot throttle gives the operator more automobile-like control over the speed of the tractor for road work. This is a feature of more recent tractors; older tractors often did not have this feature. In the UK it is mandatory to use the foot pedal to control engine speed while travelling on the road. Some tractors, especially those designed for row-crop work, have a 'de-accelerator' pedal, which operates in the reverse fashion to an automobile throttle, in that the pedal is pushed down to slow the engine. This is to allow fine control over the speed of the tractor when manoeuvring at the end of crop rows in fields- the operating speed of the engine is set using the hand throttle, and if the operator wishes to slow the tractor to turn, he simply has to press the pedal, turn and release it once the turn is completed, rather than having to alter the setting of the hand throttle twice during the maneuver.

Levers and switches

Many functions that were once controlled with a lever has been replaced with some model of electrical switch with the rise of indirect computer controlling of functions in modern tractors.

Until the beginning of the 60's tractors had a single register of gears, hence one gear stick. Often 3-5 forwards and 1 reverse. Then group gears were introduced, hence another gear stick. Later on control of the reverse gear was moved to a special stick that controls direction and adding a gear stick or a lever attached at the side of the steering wheel. Nowadays with CVT or other clutch-free gear types there are fewer sticks for controlling the transmission, some replaced with electrical switches or totally computer controlled.

The three-point hitch was controlled with a lever for adjusting the position, or as with the earliest ones, just the function for raising or lowering the hitch. With modern electrical systems it's often replaced with a potentiometer for lower bound position and another one for the upper bound and a switch allowing automatic adjustment of the hitch between these settings.

The external hydraulics also originally had levers but nowadays often replaced with some form of electrical switch, the same goes for the power take-off shaft.

Power and transmission

Engine

A 1958 Series II Field Marshall

The predecessors of modern tractors, traction engines, used steam engines for power. Since the turn of the 20th century, internal combustion engines have been the power source of choice. Between 1900 and 1960, gasoline was the predominant fuel, with kerosene and ethanol being common alternatives. Generally one engine could burn any of those, although cold starting was easiest on gasoline. Often a small auxiliary fuel tank was available to hold gasoline for cold starting and warm-up, while the main fuel tank held whatever fuel was most convenient or least expensive for the particular farmer. Dieselisation gained momentum starting in the 1960s, and modern farm tractors usually employ diesel engines, which range in power output from 18 to 575 horsepower (15 to 480 kW). Size and output are dependent on application, with smaller tractors

for lawn mowing, landscaping, orchard work, and truck farming, and larger tractors for vast fields of wheat, maize, soy, and other bulk crops.

Transmission

A PTO shaft connected to a tractor.

Once the engine has generated the power, there are many different tasks that it can be applied to. In addition to towing, most tractors have a means to transfer power to another machine such as a baler, slasher, or mower. Early tractors used belts wrapped around the flywheel or a separate belt pulley to power stationary equipment. Modern tractors use a power take-off (PTO) shaft to provide rotary power to machinery that may be stationary or pulled. Almost all modern tractors can also provide external hydraulic fluid and electrical power.

Tractors can be generally classified as two-wheel drive, two-wheel drive with front wheel assist, four-wheel drive (often with articulated steering), or track tractors (with either two or four powered rubber tracks).

Most farm tractors use a manual transmission. They have several gear ratios, typically 3 to 6, sometimes multiplied into 2 or 3 ranges. This arrangement provides a set of discrete ratios that, combined with the varying of the throttle, allow final-drive speeds from less than one mile per hour up to about 25 miles per hour (40 km/h), with the lower speeds used for working the land and the highest speeds used on the road.

Slow, controllable speeds are necessary for most operations that are performed with a tractor. They help give the farmer a larger degree of control in certain situations, such as field work. However, when travelling on public roads, the slow operating speeds can cause problems, such as long queues or tailbacks, which can delay or annoy motorists in cars and trucks. These motorists are responsible for being duly careful around farm tractors and sharing the road with them, but many shirk this responsibility, so various ways to minimize the interaction or minimize the speed differential are employed where feasible. Some countries (for example the Netherlands) employ a road sign on some roads that means "no farm tractors". Some modern tractors, such as the JCB Fastrac, are now capable of much higher road speeds of around 50 mph (80 km/h).

Older tractors usually have unsynchronized transmission design, which often requires that the operator stop the tractor in order to shift between gears. This mode of use is inherently unsuited to some of the work that tractors do, and has been circumvented in various ways over the years. For existing unsynchronized tractors, the methods of circumvention are double clutching or

power-shifting, both of which require the operator to rely on skill to speed-match the gears while shifting. Both of these solutions are undesirable from a risk-mitigation standpoint because of what can go wrong if the operator makes a mistake. (Transmission damage is possible, and loss of vehicle control can occur if the tractor is towing a heavy wagon either uphill or downhill, which is something that tractors often do.) Therefore, operator's manuals for most of these tractors state that one must always stop the tractor before shifting, and they do not even mention the alternatives. As already said, that mode of use is inherently unsuited to some of the work that tractors do, so better options were pursued for newer tractor designs. In these, unsynchronized transmission designs were replaced with synchronization or with a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Either a synchronized manual transmission with enough available gear ratios (often achieved with dual ranges, high and low) or a CVT allow the engine speed to be matched to the desired final-drive speed while keeping engine speed within the appropriate rpm range for power generation (the working range) (whereas throttling back to achieve the desired final-drive speed is a trade-off that leaves the working range). The problems, solutions, and developments described here also describe the history of transmission evolution in semi-trailer trucks. The biggest difference is fleet turnover; whereas most of the old road tractors have long since been scrapped, many of the old farm tractors are still in use. Therefore, old transmission design and operation is primarily just of historical interest in trucking, whereas in farming it still often affects daily life.

Backhoe loaderMain article: Backhoe loader

A common backhoe-loader. The backhoe is on the left, the bucket/blade on the right.

The most common variation of the classic farm tractor is the hoe, also called a hoe-loader. As the name implies, it has a loader assembly on the front and a backhoe on the back. Backhoes attach to a 3 point hitch on farm or industrial tractors. Industrial tractors are often heavier in construction particularly with regards to the use of steel grill for protection from rocks and the use of construction tires. When the backhoe is permanently attached, the machine usually has a seat that can swivel to the rear to face the hoe controls. Removable backhoe attachments almost always have a separate seat on the attachment.

Backhoe-loaders are very common and can be used for a wide variety of tasks: construction, small demolitions, light transportation of building materials, powering building equipment, digging holes,loading trucks, breaking asphalt and paving roads. Some buckets have a retractable bottom, enabling them to empty their load more quickly and efficiently. Buckets with retractable bottoms are also often used for grading and scratching off sand. The front assembly may be a

removable attachment or permanently mounted. Often the bucket can be replaced with other devices or tools.

Their relatively small frame and precise control make backhoe-loaders very useful and common in urban engineering projects such as construction and repairs in areas too small for larger equipment. Their versatility and compact size makes them one of the most popular urban construction vehicles.

In the UK, the word "JCB" is sometimes used colloquially as a genericized trademark for any such type of engineering vehicle. The term JCB now appears in the Oxford English Dictionary, although it is still legally a trademark of J. C. Bamford Ltd.

Safety

Farm tractor rear turnover

The classic Row Crop tractor (an Allis-Chalmers WD). Note the absence of any rollover protection system.

Agriculture in the United States is one of the most hazardous industries, only surpassed by mining and construction. No other farm machine is so identified with the hazards of production agriculture as the tractor.[5] Tractor related injuries account for approximately 32% of the fatalities and 6% of the non-fatal injuries in agriculture. Over 50% is attributed to tractor overturns.[6]

The roll over protection structure (ROPS) and seat belt, when worn, are the two most important safety devices to protect operators from death during tractor overturns.[7]

Modern tractors have rollover protection systems (ROPS) to prevent an operator from being crushed if the tractor overturns. It is important to remember that the ROPS does not prevent tractor overturns. Rather, it prevents the operator from being crushed during an overturn. This is especially important in open-air tractors, where the ROPS is a steel beam that extends above the operator's seat. For tractors with operator cabs, the ROPS is part of the frame of the cab. A ROPS with enclosed cab further reduces the likelihood of serious injury because the operator is protected by the sides and windows of the cab.

ROPS were first required by legislation in Sweden in 1959. Before ROPS were required, some farmers died when their tractors rolled on top of them. Row-crop tractors, before ROPS, were particularly dangerous because of their 'tricycle' design with the two front wheels spaced close together and angled inward toward the ground. Some farmers were killed by rollovers while operating tractors along steep slopes. Others have been killed while attempting to tow or pull an excessive load from above axle height, or when cold weather caused the tires to freeze to the ground, in both cases causing the tractor to pivot around the rear axle.

For the ROPS to work as designed, the operator must stay within the protective frame of the ROPS. This means the operator must wear the seat belt. Not wearing the seat belt may defeat the primary purpose of the ROPS.

Applications

For farming

A modern John Deere 8110 Farm Tractor plowing a field using a chisel plow.

A fairly recent farmtractor used to de-weed a plot of land

The most common use of the term is for the vehicles used on farms. The farm tractor is used for pulling or pushing agricultural machinery or trailers, for plowing, tilling, disking, harrowing, planting, and similar tasks.

A farm tractor used to power a pump for irrigating a plot of land

Farm implements can be attached to the rear of the tractor by either a drawbar or a three-point hitch. The three-point hitch was invented by Harry Ferguson and has been standard since the 1960s. Equipment attached to the three-point hitch can be raised or lowered hydraulically with a control lever. The equipment attached to the three-point hitch is usually completely supported by the tractor. Another way to attach an implement is via a Quick Hitch, which is attached to the

three-point hitch. This enables a single person to attach an implement quicker and put the person in less danger when attaching the implement.

Some farm-type tractors are found elsewhere than on farms: with large universities' gardening departments, in public parks, or for highway workman use with blowtorch cylinders strapped to its sides and a pneumatic drill air compressor permanently fastened over its power take-off. These are often fitted with grass (turf) tyres which are less damaging to soft surfaces than agricultural tires.

Supposedly, I4 [8] (industrial bar tires) are less damaging to lawns and soft surfaces than agricultural tires, but provide similar traction, and have the benefit of being self-cleaning. Often, these can be seen on road construction backhoes.

Precision agriculture

Space technology has been incorporated into agriculture in the form of GPS devices, and robust on-board computers installed as optional features on farm tractors. These technologies are used in modern, precision farming techniques. The spin-offs from the space race have actually facilitated automation in plowing and the use of autosteer systems drone on tractors that are manned but only steered at the end of a row, the idea being to neither overlap and use more fuel nor leave streaks when performing jobs such as cultivating.

Other types of tractors

Engineering tractors

A tractor factory in Chelyabinsk in the Soviet Union circa 1930.

Ebro farm tractor

A older model European farm tractor. These types of tractors are still common in Eastern Europe

The durability and engine power of tractors made them very suitable for engineering tasks. Tractors can be fitted with engineering tools such as dozer blade, bucket, hoe, ripper, and so on. The most common attachments for the front of a tractor are dozer blade or a bucket. When attached with engineering tools the tractor is called an engineering vehicle.

A bulldozer is a track-type tractor attached with blade in the front and a rope-winch behind. Bulldozers are very powerful tractors and have excellent ground-hold, as their main tasks are to push or drag things.

Bulldozers have been further modified over time to evolve into new machines which are capable of working in ways that the original bulldozer can not. One example is that loader tractors were created by removing the blade and substituting a large volume bucket and hydraulic arms which can raise and lower the bucket, thus making it useful for scooping up earth, rock and similar loose material to load it into trucks.

A front-loader or loader is a tractor with an engineering tool which consists of two hydraulic powered arms on either side of the front engine compartment and a tilting implement. This is usually a wide open box called a bucket but other common attachments are a pallet fork and a bale grappler.

Other modifications to the original bulldozer include making the machine smaller to let it operate in small work areas where movement is limited. There are also tiny wheeled loaders, officially called Skid-steer loaders but nicknamed "Bobcat" after the original manufacturer, which are particularly suited for small excavation projects in confined areas.

Compact Utility Tractor

File:Kubota- -New-Holland-CUTs.jpg Kubota and New Holland Compact Tractors equipped with Front End Loaders

In the middle is a 24 hp (18 kW) diesel CUT illustrating the size difference between a small farm tractor and a garden tractor

A Compact Utility Tractor, also called a CUT is a smaller version of an agricultural tractor but designed primarily for landscaping and estate management type tasks rather than for planting and harvesting on a commercial scale. Typical CUTs range in from 20 to 50 horsepower (15-37 kW) with available power take off (PTO) horsepower ranging from 15 to 45 hp (11-34 kW). CUTs are often equipped with both a mid-mounted PTO and a standard rear PTO, especially those below 40 horsepower (30 kW). The mid-mount PTO shaft typically rotates at/near 2000 rpms and is typically used to power such implements as mid-mount finish mower, a front mounted snow blower or front mounted rotary broom. The rear PTO is standardized at 540 rpms for the North American markets, but in some parts of the world a dual 540/1000 rpm PTO is standard and implements are available for either standard in those markets.

Howse brand modular Subsoiler mounted to a tractor

Broadcast seeder mounted to a Kubota Compact Utility Tractor

One of the most common attachment for a Compact Utility Tractor is the front end loader or FEL. Like the larger agricultural tractors, a CUT will have an adjustable three-point hitch that is hydraulically controlled. Typically a CUT will have four wheel drive, or more correctly 4 wheel assist. Modern Compact Utility Tractors often feature a Hydrostatic transmission, but many variants of gear drive transmissions are also offered from low priced simple gear transmissions to synchronized transmissions to advanced glide-shift transmissions. All modern CUTs feature a government mandated roll over protection structure (ROPS) just like agricultural tractors. The

most well known brands in North America include Kubota, John Deere Tractor, New Holland Ag, Case-Farmall and Massey-Ferguson. Although less common, compact backhoes are often attached to compact utility tractors.

JD 71 Flexi Planter for tractors 20 to 35 horsepower

Compact Utility Tractors require special smaller implements than full size agricultural tractors. Very common implements include the box blade, the grader blade, the landscape rake, the post hole digger (or post hole auger), the rotary cutter (also called a slasher or a brush hog), a mid or rear mount finish mower, broadcast seeder, subsoiler and the rototiller (also rotary tiller). In northern climates, a rear mounted snow blower is very common, on smaller CUTs some models are available with front mounted snow blowers that are powered by a mid-PTO shaft. There are many more implement brands than there are tractor brands offering CUT owners a wide selection of choice.

For small scale farming or large scale gardening, there are some planting and harvesting implements sized for CUTs. One and two row planting units are commonly available as are cultivators, sprayers and different types of seeders (slit, rotary and drop).

Garden Tractors

Garden Tractors (also called Mini Tractors) are small, light and simple tractors designed for use in domestic gardens. Garden Tractors are usually designed primarily for cutting grass, being fitted with horizontal rotary cutting decks. The distinction between a garden tractor and a ride-on lawnmower is often hard to make- generally Garden Tractors are more sturdily built, with stronger frames, axles and transmissions. Garden Tractors are generally capable of mounting other implements such as harrows, cultivators/rotavators, sweepers, rollers and dozer-blades. Like ride-on mowers, Garden Tractors generally have a horizontally-mounted engine with a belt-drive to a transaxle-type transmission (usually of 4- or 5-speeds, although some my also have two-speed reduction gearboxes or hydraulic gearboxes). However, Wheel Horse (now part of Toro) garden tractors have vertically-mounted engines with belt-drive, whilst Allen/Gutbrod tractors had an automotive-type clutch and gearbox. The engines are generally 1- or 2-cylinder petrol (gasoline) engine, although diesel engine models are also available, especially in Europe.

In the U.S., the term riding lawn mower today refers to mid or rear engined machines. Front-engined tractor layout machines designed primarily for cutting grass and light towing are called lawn tractors, and heavy duty lawn tractors, often shaft driven, are garden tractors. The primary difference between a lawn tractor and a garden tractor are the frame weight, the rear wheels (garden tractors almost always have multiple mounting bolts, while most lawn tractors have a

single bolt or clip on the hub.), and the ability to use ground engaging equipment such as plows or disk-harrows. Craftsman, MTD,Snapper and other major mowing equipment manufacturers use these terms.

As well as dedicated manufacturers, many makers of agricultural tractors have made (or continue to make) ranges of garden tractors, such as Case, Massey-Ferguson, International Harvester and John Deere.

CultivatorFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Cultivator

Historical Cultivator at the Saskatchewan Western Development Museum

A cultivator is a farm implement for stirring and pulverizing the soil, either before planting or to remove weeds and to aerate and loosen the soil after the crop has begun to grow. It is powered by a tractor and stirs the soil, usually to a greater depth than does the harrow (which is usually unpowered). Similar but much smaller machines are used for gardening.

Garden cultivatorsMain article: Rotary tiller

A small tiller

Small cultivators are used for gardening, powered by small motors, and controlled by an operator walking behind. Garden cultivators can be used to mix soils with manures and fertilizers in preparation for planting. They till the soil and convert soil lumps to a tilth. Different attachments can be used to plough the soil or cut vegetation.

Farm cultivators

A tractor-mounted tiller

Cultivators are pulled by tractors through the field and can vary greatly in size and shape. Some are as small as 10 feet (3 m) wide and larger ones can be as much as 80 feet (24 m) wide. Many are equipped with hydraulic wings that fold up to makes road travel easier and safer. Different types are used for preparation of fields before planting, and for the control of weeds between row crops:

Field cultivator

Field cultivators are used to complete tillage operations in many types of arable crop fields. The main function of the field cultivator is to prepare a proper seedbed for the crop to be planted into, to bury crop residue in the soil (helping to warm the soil before planting), to control weeds, and to mix and incorporate the soil to ensure the growing crop has enough water and nutrients to grow well during the growing season. The implement has many shanks mounted on the underside of a metal frame, and small narrow rods at the rear of the machine that smooth out the soil surface for easier travel later when planting. In most field cultivators one to many hydraulic cylinders raise and lower the implement and control its depth.

Row crop cultivator

The main function of the row crop cultivator is weed control between the rows of an established crop. Row crop cultivators are usually raised and lowered by a three-point hitch and the depth is controlled by gauge wheels.

Planter (farm implement)From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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A two row planter featuring John Deere "71 Flexi" row units

A planter is an agricultural farm implement towed behind a tractor, used for sowing crops through a field.[1][2] It is connected to the tractor with a draw-bar, or a three-point hitch. Planters lay the seed down in precise manner along rows. Seeds are distributed through devices called row units.[1] The row units are spaced evenly along the planter.[1] Planters vary greatly in size, from two rows to twenty. The space between the row units also vary greatly

Broadcast seederFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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A broadcast seeder, alternately called a broadcast spreader, is a tractor implement commonly used for spreading seed, lime, fertilizer.

Rear View of a broadcast seeder attached to a Kubota B2910 compact tractor

Herd M96 seeder/spreader, side view showing 3pt hitch and PTO shaft

Broadcast seeders/spreaders can be roughly divided into three groups. The smallest of the broadcast seeders/spreaders can be carried or pushed while spreading seed or fertilizer. The next size up is designed to be towed behind a garden tractor or ATV. Very similar in size to the tow behind units are broadcast seeders that mount to the 3pt hitch of a compact utility tractor, these are ideal for landscape and small property maintenance. The largest size units are commercial broadcast seeders/spreaders designed and sized appropriately for agricultural tractors and mount to the tractor's 3pt hitch. The broadcast seeders that are mounted to a 3pt hitch are powered by a power take off (P.T.O.) shaft from the tractor.

The basic operating concept of broadcast spreads is simple. A large material hopper is positioned over a horizontal spinning disk, the disk has a series of 3 or 4 fins attached to it which throw the dropped materials from the hopper out and away from the seeder/spreader. Alternately a pendulum spreading mechanism may be employed, this method is more common in large commercial spreaders. The photos clearly show the material hopper, these hoppers are commonly made of plastic, painted steel or galvanized steel.

Some seeders/spreaders have directional fins to control the direction of the material that is thrown from the spreader. All broadcast spreaders require some form of power to spin the disk. On hand carried units, a hand crank spins gears to turn the disk. On tow behind units, the wheels spin a shaft that turns gears which, in turn, spin the disk. As is partially visible in one of the photos, with tractor mounted units, a mechanical P.T.O. shaft connected to the tractor and controlled by the tractor operator, spins the disk. There are some seeder/spreaders made for garden size tractors that use a 12 volt motor to spin the dispersing disk.

Farm Mechanisation8.55 During the past seven years (1993-94to 1999-2000), over 1.47 million tractors weresold in the country. The number of power tillerssold was over 85 thousand in the same period.The use of agricultural machinery, particularlytractors was earlier seen mostly in northernStates of Punjab, Haryana and Western U.P.But of late there has been increasing demandfor tractors and even power tillers inpredominantly rice growing States. In 1999-2000, 2.73 lakh tractors were sold, U.P. leadingwith 69665; and 16.8 thousand power tillerswere sold

Combine harvesterFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The combine harvester, or simply combine, also known as a thresher is a machine that combines the tasks of harvesting, threshing, and cleaning grain crops. The objective is to complete these three processes, which used to be distinct, in one pass of the machine over a particular part of the field. Among the crops harvested with a combine are wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn (maize), soybeans, and flax (linseed). The waste straw left behind on the field is the remaining dried stems and leaves of the crop with limited nutrients which is either chopped and spread on the field or baled for feed and bedding for livestock.

HistoryThe first combine was invented by Hiram Moore in 1834. It took many decades for the combine to become popular. Early combines often took more than 16 horses to drive them. Later combines were pulled by steam engines. George Stockton Berry joined the combine into a single machine using straw to heat the boiler. The header was over forty feet long, cutting over one hundred acres per day.

Old Style Harverster found in the Henty, Australia region.

Early combines, some of them quite large, were drawn by horse or mule teams and used a bull wheel to provide power. In 1902, a combine could harvest enough grain in one hour to make 10 loaves of bread[citation needed]. Tractor-drawn, PTO-powered combines were used for a time. These combines used a shaker to separate the grain from the chaff and straw-walkers (grates with small teeth on an eccentric shaft) to eject the straw while retaining the grain. Tractor drawn combines evolved to have separate gas or diesel engines to power the grain separation. Newer kinds of combines are self-propelled and use diesel engines for power. A significant advance in the design of combines was the rotary design. Straw and grain were separated by use of a powerful fan. "Axial-Flow" rotary combines were introduced by International Harvester "IH" in 1977. In about the 1980's on-board electronics were introduced to measure threshing efficiency. This new instrumentation allowed operators to get better grain yields by optimizing ground speed and other operating parameters.

Combine Heads

A John Deere 9410 Combine set to harvest Oats.

Combines are equipped with removable heads that are designed for particular crops. The standard header, sometimes called a grain platform (or platform header), is equipped with a reciprocating knife cutter bar, and features a revolving reel with metal or plastic teeth to cause the cut crop to fall into the auger once it is cut. A variation of the platform, a "flex" platform is similar but has a cutter bar that can flex over contours and ridges to cut soybeans that have pods close to the ground. A flex head can cut soybeans as well as cereal crops, while a rigid platform is generally used only in cereal grains.

Some wheat headers, called "draper" headers, use a fabric or rubber apron instead of a cross auger. Draper headers allow faster feeding than cross augers, leading to higher throughputs due to lower power requirments. On many farms, platform headers are used to cut wheat, instead of separate wheat headers, so as to reduce overall costs.

Dummy heads or pick-up headers feature spring-tined pickups, usually attached to a heavy rubber belt. They are used for crops that have already been cut and placed in windrows or swaths. This is particularly useful in northern climates such as western Canada where swathing kills weeds resulting in a faster dry down.

A John Deere combine harvesting corn

While a grain platform can be used for corn, a specialized corn head is ordinarily used instead. The corn head is equipped with snap rolls that strip the stalk and leaf away from the ear, so that only the ear (and husk) enter the throat. This improves efficiency dramatically since so much less

material must go through the cylinder. The corn head can be recognized by the presence of points between each row.

Occasionally rowcrop heads are seen that function like a grain platform, but have points between rows like a corn head. These are used to reduce the amount of weed seed picked up when harvesting small grains.

Self propelled Gleaner combines could be fitted with special tracks instead of tires or tires with tread measuring almost 10in deep to assist in harvesting rice. Some combines, particularly pull type, have tires with a diamond tread which prevents sinking in mud.These tracks can fit other combines by having adapter plates made.

Conventional combine

The cut crop is carried up the feeder throat by a chain and flight elevator, then fed into the threshing mechanism of the combine, consisting of a rotating threshing drum, to which grooved steel bars are bolted. These bars thresh or separate the grains and chaff from the straw through the action of the drum against the concave, a shaped "half drum", also fitted with steel bars and a meshed grill, through which grain, chaff and smaller debris may fall, whereas the straw, being too long, is carried through onto the straw walkers. The drum speed is variably adjustable, whilst the distance between the drum and concave is finely adjustable fore, aft and together, to achieve optimum separation and output. Manually engaged disawning plates are usually fitted to the concave. These provide extra friction to remove the awns from barley crops.

Sidehill levelling

An interesting technology is in use in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest of the United States in which the combine is retrofitted with a hydraulic sidehill levelling system. This allows the combine to harvest the incredibly steep but fertile soil in the region. Hillsides can be as steep as a 50% slope. Gleaner, IH and Case IH, John Deere, and others all have made combines with this sidehill levelling system, and local machine shops have fabricated them as an aftermarket add-on. Linked pictures below show the technology.

The first levelling technology was developed by Holt Co., a California firm, in 1891.[1] Modern levelling came into being with the invention and patent of a level sensitive mercury switch system invented by Raymond Alvah Hanson in 1946.[2] Raymond's son, Raymond, Jr., produced leveling systems exclusively for John Deere combines until 1995 as R. A. Hanson Company, Inc. In 1995, his son, Richard, purchased the company from his father and renamed it RAHCO International, Inc. In April, 2007, the company was renamed The Factory Company International, Inc.[3] Production continues to this day.

Sidehill levelling has several advantages. Primary among them is an increased threshing efficiency on sidehills. Without levelling, grain and chaff slide to one side of separator and come through the machine in a large ball rather than being separated, dumping large amounts of grain on the ground. By keeping the machinery level, the straw-walker is able to operate more efficiently, making for more efficient threshing. IH produced the 453 combine which leveled

both side-to-side and front-to-back, enabling efficient threshing whether on a sidehill or climbing a hill head on.

Secondarily, levelling changes a combine's center of gravity relative to the hill and allows the combine to harvest along the contour of a hill without tipping, a very real danger on the steeper slopes of the region; it is not uncommon for combines to roll on extremely steep hills.

Newer leveling systems do not have as much tilt as the older ones. A John Deere 9600 combine equipped with a Rahco hillside conversion kit will level over to 44%, while the newer STS combines will only go to 35%. These modern combines use the rotary grain separator which makes leveling less critical. Most combines on the Palouse have dual drive wheels on each side to stabilize them.

Sidehill levelling system in Europe was developed by Italian combines' manifacturer Laverda that still today produces those systems as a leader.

Maintaining threshing speed

Allis-Chalmers GLEANER L2

Another technology that is sometimes used on combines is a continuously variable transmission. This allows the ground speed of the machine to be varied while maintaining a constant engine and threshing speed. It is desirable to keep the threshing speed since the machine will typically have been adjusted to operate best at a certain speed.

Self-propelled combines started with standard manual transmissions that provided one speed based on input rpm. Deficiencies were noted and in the early 1950s combines were equipped with what John Deere called the "Variable Speed Drive". This was simply a variable width sheave controlled by spring and hydraulic pressures. This sheave was attached to the input shaft of the transmission. A standard 4 speed manual transmission was still used in this drive system. The operator would select a gear, typically 3rd. An extra control was provided to the operator to allow him to speed up and slow down the machine within the limits provided by the variable speed drive system. By decreasing the width of the sheave on the input shaft of the transmission, the belt would ride higher in the groove. This slowed the rotating speed on the input shaft of the

transmission, thus slowing the ground speed for that gear. A clutch was still provided to allow the operator to stop the machine and change transmission gears.

Later, as hydraulic technology improved, hydrostatic transmissions were introduced by Versatile Mfg for use on swathers but later this technology was applied to combines as well. This drive retained the 4 speed manual transmission as before, but this time used a system of hydraulic pumps and motors to drive the input shaft of the transmission. This system is called a Hydrostatic drive system. The engine turns the hydraulic pump capable of high flow rates at up to 4000 psi. This pressure is then directed to the hydraulic motor that is connected to the input shaft of the transmission. The operator is provided with a lever in the cab that allows for the control of the hydraulic motor's ability to use the energy provided by the pump. By adjusting the swash plate in the motor, the stroke of its pistons are changed. If the swash plate is set to neutral, the pistons do not move in their bores and no rotation is allowed, thus the machine does not move. By moving the lever, the swash plate moves its attached pistons forward, thus allowing them to move within the bore and causing the motor to turn. This provides an infinitely variable speed control from 0 ground speed to what ever the maximum speed is allowed by the gear selection of the transmission. The standard clutch was removed from this drive system as it was no longer needed.

Most if not all modern combines are equipped with hydrostatic drives. These are larger versions of the same system used in consumer and commercial lawn mowers that most are familiar with today. In fact, it was the downsizing of the combine drive system that placed these drive systems into mowers and other machines.

The threshing process

Despite great advances mechanically and in computer control, the basic operation of the combine harvester has remained unchanged almost since it was invented.

First, the header, described above, cuts the crop and feeds it into the threshing cylinder. This consists of a series of horizontal rasp bars fixed across the path of the crop and in the shape of a quarter cylinder, guiding the crop upwards through a 90 degree turn. Moving rasp bars or rub bars pull the crop through concaved grates that separate the grain and chaff from the straw. The grain heads fall through the fixed concaves onto the sieves. The straw exits the top of the concave onto the straw walkers.

Since the New Holland TR70 Twin-Rotor Combine came out in 1975, combines have rotors in place of conventional cylinders. A rotor is a long, longitudinally mounted rotating cylinder with plates similar to rub bars.

There are usually two sieves, one above the other. Each is a flat metal plate with holes set according to the size of the grain mounted at an angle which shakes. The holes in the top sieve are set larger than the holes in the bottom sieve. While straw is carried to the rear, crop and weed seeds, as well as chaff, fall onto the second sieves, where chaff and crop fall though and are blown out by a fan. The crop is carried to the elevator which carries it into the hopper. Setting

the concave clearance, fan speed, and sieve size is critical to ensure that the crop is threshed properly, the grain is clean of debris, and that all of the grain entering the machine reaches the grain tank. ( Observe, for example, that when travelling uphill the fan speed must be reduced to account for the shallower gradient of the sieves.)

Heavy material, e.g., unthreshed heads, fall off the front of the sieves and are returned to the concave for re-threshing.

The straw walkers are located above the sieves, and also have holes in them. Any grain remaining attached to the straw is shaken off and falls onto the top sieve.

When the straw reaches the end of the walkers it falls out the rear of the combine. It can then be baled for cattle bedding or spread by two rotating straw spreaders with rubber arms. Most modern combines are equipped with a straw spreader.

Rotary vs. Conventional Design

For a considerable time, combine harvesters used the conventional design, which used a rotating cylinder at the front-end which knocked the seeds out of the heads, and then used the rest of the machine to separate the straw from the chaff, and the chaff from the grain. Gleaner Manufacturing Company invented the rotary combine while part of the Allis Chalmers Manufacturing Company.

Case IH Combine set to harvest Soybeans.

In the decades before the widespread adoption of the rotary combine in the late seventies, several inventors had pioneered designs which relied more on centrifugal force for grain separation and less on gravity alone. By the early eighties, most major manufacturers had settled on a "walkerless" design with much larger threshing cylinders to do most of the work. Advantages were faster grain harvesting and gentler treatment of fragile seeds, which were often cracked by the faster rotational speeds of conventional combine threshing cylinders.

It was the disadvantages of the rotary combine (increased power requirements and over-pulverization of the straw by-product) which prompted a resurgence of conventional combines in the late nineties. Perhaps overlooked but nonetheless true, when the large engines that powered the rotary machines were employed in conventional machines, the two types of machines delivered similar production capacities. Also, research was beginning to show that incorporating above-ground crop residue (straw) into the soil is less useful for rebuilding soil fertility than

previously believed. This meant that working pulverized straw into the soil became more of a hindrance than a benefit. An increase in feedlot beef production also created a higher demand for straw as fodder. Conventional combines, which use straw walkers, preserve the quality of straw and allow it to be baled and removed from the field.

BalerFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, searchThis article describes the farm machinery. For the municipality in Aurora, Philippines, see Baler, Aurora.

A round baler

A baler is a piece of farm machinery that is used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay or straw) into bales and bind the bales with twine. There are several different types of balers that are commonly used. Balers are also used in the material recycling facilities, primarily for baling plastic, paper or cardboard for transport to a recycling facility.

Round baler

A round bale

Round baler in action

The most frequently used type of baler is a round baler. It produces cylindrically shaped "round" or "rolled" bales. The hay is simply rolled up inside the baler using rubberized belts, fixed rollers, or a combination of rollers and belts. When the bale reaches a determined size, the twine or mesh wrap that binds the bale is wrapped around the outside but not knotted. The back of the baler is opened up and the bale is discharged. Straw or fully-dried hay bales are complete at this stage, but if the bale is to be silage, it will also be wrapped in airtight plastic sheeting by another machine. Variable-chamber balers typically produce bales from 48 to 72 inches in diameter (about 120 to 180 cm) and up to 60 inches in width (150 cm). The bales weigh from 1100 lb (500 kg) to 2200 lb (1000 kg), depending upon size, material and dampness.

Early round balers were sold by Allis Chalmers as the Roto Baler. These bales were roughly 16 inches (410 mm) in diameter and 48 inches (1,200 mm) wide. The concept was first pioneered by Ummo Luebbens as early as 1910. Introduced in 1947 and discontinued in 1960, Allis Chalmers was a pioneer in supplying machinery that would form cylindrical bales during a period where rectangular bales were most common.

The modern round baler was designed in 1972 by the Vermeer Company, which as of 2007 continues to produce them.[1][2]

Round bale handling and transportRound bales can weigh a ton or more, and are well-suited for modern large scale farming operations such as a dairy with 200 or more cows. However, due to the ability for a round bale to roll away on a slope, they require special transport and moving equipment.

The most important tool for round bale handling is the bale spear or spike, which is usually mounted on the back of a tractor or the front of a skid-steer. It is inserted into the approximate center of the round bale, then lifted up and the bale is hauled away. Once at the destination, the round bale is set down, and the spear pulled out. Careful placement of the spear in the center is needed or the round bale can spin around and touch the ground while in transport, causing a loss of control.

Alternatively, a grapple fork may be used to lift and transport round bales. The grapple fork is a hydraulically driven implement attached to the end of a tractor's bucket loader. When the hydraulic cylinder is extended the fork clamps downwards towards the bucket, much like a closing hand. To move a round bale the tractor approaches the bale from the side and places the bucket underneath the bale. The fork is then clamped down across the top of the bale, and the bucket lifted with the bale in tow.

It is difficult to flip a round bale so that the flat surface is facing down and later flip it back up on edge, so transporting many round bales a long distance is a challenge. Flat-bed transport is difficult since the bales could roll off the truck bed going around curves and up hills. To prevent this, the flat-bed trailer is equipped with rounded guard-rails at either end, which prevent bales

from rolling either forward or backward. Another solution for this is the saddle wagon, which has closely-spaced rounded saddles or support posts for round bales to sit in. The tall sides of each saddle, or the bale settling down in between posts, prevent the bales from rolling around while on the wagon.

Round bales can be directly used for feeding animals by placing it in a feeding area, tipping it over, removing the bale wrap, and placing a protective ring around the outside so that animals don't walk on hay that has been peeled off the outer perimeter of the bale. The baler's forming and compaction process can assist in unrolling a round bale, as it is often possible to unroll a round bale in a continuous flat strip.

Silage / Haylage large bales

A recent innovation in hay storage has been the development of the silage or haylage bale, which is a high-moisture wrapped round bale. These are baled much wetter than normal round bales, and are usually smaller than regular round hay bales because the greater moisture content makes them heavier and harder to handle. These bales begin to ferment almost immediately, and the metal bale spear stabbed into the core becomes very warm to the touch from the fermentation process.

They are placed on a special rotating bale spear mounted on a tractor. As the bale spins, a layer of plastic cling film is applied to the exterior of the bale. This roll of plastic is mounted in a sliding shuttle on a steel arm and can move parallel to the bale axis, so that the operator does not need to hold up the heavy roll of plastic themselves. The plastic layer extends over the ends of the bale to form a ring of plastic approximately 12 inches (0.3 meters) wide on the ends with hay exposed in the center.

In order to stretch the cling-wrap plastic tightly over the bale, the tension is actively adjusted with a knob on the end of the roll which squeezes the ends of the roll in the shuttle. In this example wrapping video, the operator is attempting to use high tension to get a flat, smooth seal on the right end. However the tension increases too much and the plastic tears off. The operator

recovers by quickly loosening the tension and allows the plastic to feed out halfway around the bale before reapplying the tension to the sheeting.

These bales are placed in a long continuous row, with each wrapped bale pressed firmly up against all the other bales in the row before being set down onto the ground. The plastic wrap on the ends of each bale sticks together to seal out air and moisture, protecting the hay from the elements. The end-bales are hand-sealed with strips of cling plastic across the hay opening.

The airtight seal between each bale permits the row of round bales to ferment as if they were in a silo bag but are easier to handle than a silo bag since the bale can just be picked up and hauled away as a discrete package, as opposed to a large open bag which is full of loose material that must be scooped up, and which is fragile and easily damaged by the silage loader. However, the plastic usage is high and there is no way to reuse or recycle the hay-contaminated plastic sheeting, other than as a fuel source via incineration. The wrapping cost is approximately US$5 per bale.

An alternative form of the same type of bale is placed on a pair of rollers on a turntable mounted on the three-point linkage of a tractor, and spun about two axes while being wrapped in several layers of cling-wrap plastic film. This covers both the ends and sides of the bale in one operation, and which is thus sealed separately from other bales. The bales are then moved or stacked using a special pincer attachment on the front loader of a tractor which does not damage the film seal. They can also be moved using a standard bale spike, but this punctures the airtight seal. The hole in the film is repaired after moving.

For either type of wrapping, the bale must be unwrapped before being fed to livestock to prevent accidental ingestion of the plastic, and are usually fed to the animals using a ring feeder.

Large rectangular baler

Large rectangular baler

Another type of baler in common use produces large rectangular bales, each bound with a half dozen or so strings of twine which are then knotted. Such bales are highly compacted and generally weigh somewhat more than round bales. In the prairies of Canada they are called prairie raptors.

Rectangular bale handling and transportRectangular bales are easier to transport than round bales since there is little risk of the bale rolling off the back of a flatbed trailer. The rectangular shape also saves space and allows a complete solid slab of hay to be stacked up for transport and storage.

They are well-suited for large scale livestock feedlot operations where many tons of feed are rationed every hour.

Due to the huge rectangular shape, large spear forks, or squeeze grips are mounted to heavy lifting machinery, such as: large fork lifts, tractors equipped with front end loaders, telehandlers, hay squeezes or wheel loaders to lift these bales.

Small square baler

A small square baler

A type of baler which is less common today in some places but which is still prevalent in many countries such as New Zealand and Australia to the exclusion of large bales produces small rectangular (often called "square") bales. Each bale is about 15 in x 18 in x 38 in (38 x 46 x 96 cm). The bales are wrapped with two, three, or sometimes four strands of twine and knotted. The bales are light enough for one person to handle, about 45 lb to 60 lb (20 to 25 kg).

To form the bale, the hay in the windrow is lifted by tines in the baler's pickup. The hay is then dragged or augered into a chamber that runs the length of one side of the baler. A combination plunger and knife moves back and forth in the front end of this chamber. The knife, positioned just ahead of the plunger, cuts off the hay at the spot where it enters the chamber from the pickup. The plunger rams the hay rearwards, compressing it into the bales. A measuring device measures the amount of hay that is being compressed and, at the appropriate length it triggers the mechanism (the knotter) that wraps the twine around the bale and ties it off. As the next bale is formed the tied one is driven out of the rear of the baling chamber onto the ground or onto a special wagon hooked to the end of the baler. This process continues as long as there is material to be baled.

This form of bale is no longer much used in large-scale commercial agriculture because of the costs involved in handling many small bales. However, it enjoys some popularity in small-scale, low-mechanization agriculture and horse-keeping. Besides using simpler machinery and being easy to handle, these small bales can also be used for insulation and building materials in straw-bale construction. Square bales will also generally weather better than round bales because a more much dense stack can be put up. Convenience is also a major factor in farmers deciding to

continue putting up square bales, as they make feeding in confined areas (stables, barns, etc.) much easier.

Many of these older balers are still to be found on farms today, particularly in dry areas where bales can be left outside for long periods.

The automatic-baler for small square bales took on most of its present form in 1940. It was first manufactured by the New Holland Ag and it used a small petrol engine to provide operating power. It is based on a 1937 invention for a twine-tie baler with automatic pickup.

Wire balers

Stationary baler

Bales prior to 1937 were manually wire-tied with two baling wires. Even earlier, the baler was a stationary implement, driven by power take-off (PTO) and belt, with the hay being brought to the baler and fed in by hand. The biggest change to this type of baler since 1940 is being powered by the tractor through its PTO, instead of by a built-in internal combustion engine.

In present day production, small square balers can be ordered with twine knotters or wire tie knotters.

Square/wire bale history

Pickup and handling methods

In the 1940s most farmers would bale hay in the field with a small tractor with 20 or less horsepower, and the tied bales would be dropped onto the ground as the baler moved through the field. Another team of workers with horses and a flatbed wagon with would come by and use a

sharp metal hook to grab the bale and throw it up onto the wagon while an assistant stacks the bale, for transport to the barn.

A later time-saving innovation was to tow the flatbed wagon directly behind the baler, and the bale would be pushed up a ramp to a waiting attendant on the wagon. The attendant hooks the bale off the ramp and stacks it on the wagon, while waiting for the next bale to be produced.

Eventually as tractor horsepower increased, the thrower-baler became possible, which eliminates the need for someone to stand on the wagon and pick up the finished bales. The first thrower mechanism used two fast-moving friction belts to grab finished bales and throws them at an angle up in the air onto the bale wagon. The bale wagon was modified from a flatbed into a 3-sided skeleton frame open at the front, to act as a catcher's net for the thrown bales.

The next innovation of the thrower-baler as tractor horsepower further increased was the hydraulic tossing baler. This employs a flat pan behind the bale knotter. As bales advance out the back of the baler, they are pushed onto the pan one at a time. When the bale has moved fully onto the pan, the pan suddenly pops up, pushed by a large hydraulic cylinder, and tosses the bale up into the wagon like a catapult.

The pan-thrower method puts much less stress on the bales compared to the belt-thrower. The friction belts of the belt-thrower stress the twine and knots as they grip the bale, and would occasionally cause bales to break apart in the thrower or when the bales landed in the wagon.

New Holland has invented a machine named the "Stackcruiser", or a stacker. Small "square" bales are dropped by the baler with the strings facing outward, the stacker will drive up to the bales and it will pick it up and set it on a three-bale-wide table (the strings are now facing upwards). once three bales are on the table, the table lifts up and back causing the three bales to face strings to the side again, this happens 3 more times until there are 16 bales on the main table. this table will lift like the smaller one and the bales will be up against a vertical table. The machine will hold 160 bales (ten tiers), usually there will be cross-tiers near the center to keep the stack from swaying or colasping if any weight is applied to the top of the stack. The full load will be transported to a barn, the whole rear of the stacker will tilt upwards until it is vertical. there will be two pushers that will extend through the machine and hold the bottom of the stack from being pulled out from the stacker while it is driven out of the barn

In Britain (if small square bales are still to be used) they are usually collected as they fall out of the baler in a bale sledge dragged behind the baler. This has various channels, controlled by automatic balances, catches and springs, which sort each bale into its place in a square eight. When the sledge is full, a catch is tripped automatically, and a door at the rear opens to leave the eight lying neatly together on the ground. These may be picked up individually and loaded by hand, or they may be picked up all eight together by a bale grab on a tractor, a special front loader consisting of many hydraulically-powered downward-pointing curved spikes. The square eight will then be stacked, either on a trailer for transport, or in a roughly cubic field stack eight or ten layers high. This cube may then be transported by a large machine attached to the three-point hitch behind a tractor, which clamps the sides of the cube and lifts it bodily.

A simple method of handling large and small round bales can be seen in the article Hay Delivery. This is a simple do-it-yourself modification to the tractor bucket. Two hooks are welded to the outside top of a tractor front loader bucket and a 14-foot (4.3 m) logging chain which allows the user to stay on the tractor, grab bales, transport them, stack them and place them out for animals to eat. The advantage of this simple system is that it uses no fancy expensive equipment which must be swapped back and forth on the tractor. This allows a small farmer to avoid the costs of extra equipment and not have a separate tractor just for that one function. With a little practice one can be as quick as the specialized hydraulic bale grabs. This method developed by Walter Jeffries of Sugar Mountain Farm also has less maintenance involved and is safer than bale spears and clamps.

Storage methods

Before electrification occurred in rural parts of the United States in the 1940s, some small dairy farms would have tractors but not electric power. Often just one neighbor who could afford a tractor would do all the baling for surrounding farmers still using horses.

To get the bales up into the hayloft, a pulley system ran on a track along the peak of the barn's hayloft. This track also stuck a few feet out the end of the loft, with a large access door under the track. On the bottom of the pulley system was a bale spear, which is pointed on the end and has retractable retention spikes.

A flatbed wagon would pull up next to the barn underneath the end of the track, the spear lowered down to the wagon, and speared into a single bale. The pulley rope would be used to manually lift the bale high up into the air until it could enter the mow through the door, then moved along the track into the barn and finally released for manual stacking in tight rows across the floor of the loft. As the stack filled the loft, the bales would be lifted higher and higher with the pulleys until the hay was stacked all the way up to the peak.

When electricity finally arrived, the bale spear, pulley and track system disappeared, replaced by long motorized bale conveyors known as hay elevators. A typical elevator is an open skeletal frame, with a chain that has dull 3-inch (76 mm) spikes every few feet along the chain to grab bales and drag them along. One elevator replaced the spear track and ran the entire length of the peak of the barn. A second elevator was either installed at a 30-degree slope on the side of the barn to lift bales up to the peak elevator, or used dual front-back chains surrounding the bale to lift bales straight up the side of the barn to the peak elevator.

A bale wagon pulls up next to the lifting elevator, and a farm worker places bales one at a time onto the angled track. Once bales arrive at the peak elevator, there are adjustable tipping gates along the length of the peak elevator. By pulling a cable from the floor of the hayloft, tipping gates can be opened and closed, so that bales will tip off the elevator and drop down to the floor in different areas of the loft. This permits a single elevator to transport hay to one part of a loft and straw to another part.

This complete hay elevator lifting, transport, and dropping system reduced bale storage down to a single person, who simply pulls up with a wagon, turns on the elevators and starts placing bales on it, occasionally checking to make sure that bales are falling in the right locations in the loft.

The neat stacking of bales in the loft is often sacrificed for the speed of just letting them fall and roll down the growing pile in the loft, and changing the elevator gates to fill in open areas around the loose pile. But if desired, the loose bale pile dropped by the elevator could be rearranged into orderly rows between wagon loads.

Usage once in the barn

The process of retrieving bales from a hayloft has stayed relatively unchanged from the beginning of baling. Typically workers were sent up into the loft, to climb up onto the bale stack, pull bales off the stack, and throw or roll them down the stack to the open floor of the loft. Once the bale is down on the floor, workers climb down the stack, open a cover over a bale chute in the floor of the loft, and push the bales down the chute to the livestock area of the barn.

Most barns were equipped with several chutes along the sides and in the center of the loft floor. This permitted bales to be dropped into the area where they were to be used. Hay bales would be dropped through side chutes, to be broken up and fed to the cattle. Straw bales would be dropped down the center chute, to be distributed as bedding in the livestock standing/resting areas.

Traditionally multiple bales were dropped down to the livestock floor and the twine removed by hand. After drying and being stored under tons of pressure in the haystack, most bales are tightly compacted and need to be torn apart and fluffed up for use.

One recent method of speeding up all this manual bale handling is the bale shredder, which is a large vertical drum with rotary cutting/ripping teeth at the base of the drum. The shredder is placed under the chute and several bales dropped in. A worker then pushes the shredder along the barn aisle as it rips up a bale and spews it out in a continuous fluffy stream of material.

Field of straw bales, "curves" in field made by baler

Industrial balersIndustrial balers are typically used to compact similar types of waste, such as office paper, cardboard, plastic, foil and cans, for sale to recycling companies. These balers are made of steel with a hydraulic ram to compress the material loaded. Some balers are simple and labor-intensive, but are suitable for smaller volumes. Other balers are very complex and automated, and are used where large quantities of waste are handled

Hay rakeFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, searchThis article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008)

A hay rake.

An old-fashioned hay rake

A hay rake is an agricultural rake used to collect cut hay into windrows for later collection (e.g. by a baler). It is also designed to fluff up the hay and turn it over so that it may dry.

A hay rake may be mechanized, drawn by a tractor or draft animals, or it may be a hand tool.

Rotary tedderA rotary tedder is a mechanical hay rake attached to a tractor's three point hitch. It is also connected to the tractor's power take-off. There are large wheels on the tedder with tines on them to flick over the hay, driven by the tractor's power take-off. When there has been rain and the windrow is wet wet, the tedder can be used to turn the row over so that it can dry out.

IrrigationFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. In crop production it is mainly used in dry areas and in periods of rainfall shortfalls, but also to protect plants against frost.[1] Additionally irrigation helps to suppress weed growing in rice fields.[2] In contrast, agriculture that relies only on direct rainfall is referred to as rain-fed farming. Irrigation is often studied together with drainage, which is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given area.

Irrigation is also a term used in the Medical/Dental fields and refers to flushing and washing out anything with water or another liquid.

Irrigation in a field in New Jersey in the United States.

History

Animal-powered irrigation, Upper Egypt, ca. 1840

An example of irrigation system common in Indian subcontinent. Artistic impression on the banks of Dal Lake, Kashmir, India.

Inside a karez tunnel at Turpan, China.

Archaeological investigation has identified evidence of irrigation in Mesopotamia and Egypt as far back as the 6th millennium BCE, where barley was grown in areas where the natural rainfall was insufficient to support such a crop.[3]

In the Zana Valley of the Andes Mountains in Peru, archaeologists found remains of three irrigation canals radiocarbon dated from the 4th millennium BCE, the 3rd millennium BCE and the 9th century CE. These canals are the earliest record of irrigation in the New World. Traces of a canal possibly dating from the 5th millennium BCE were found under the 4th millennium canal.[4] Sophisticated irrigation and storage systems were developed by the Indus Valley Civilization in Pakistan and North India, including the reservoirs at Girnar in 3000 BCE and an early canal irrigation system from circa 2600 BCE.[5][6] Large scale agriculture was practiced and an extensive network of canals was used for the purpose of irrigation.

There is evidence of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Amenemhet III in the twelfth dynasty (about 1800 BCE) using the natural lake of the Faiyum Oasis as a reservoir to store surpluses of water for use during the dry seasons, as the lake swelled annually as caused by the annual flooding of the Nile.[7]

The Qanats, developed in ancient Persia in about 800 BCE, are among the oldest known irrigation methods still in use today. They are now found in Asia, the middle east and north Africa. The system comprises a network of vertical wells and gently sloping tunnels driven into the sides of cliffs and steep hills to tap groundwater.[8] The noria, a water wheel with clay pots around the rim powered by the flow of the stream (or by animals where the water source was still), was first brought into use at about this time, by Roman settlers in North Africa. By 150 BCE the pots were fitted with valves to allow smoother filling as they were forced into the water.[9]

The irrigation works of ancient Sri Lanka, the earliest dating from about 300 BCE, in the reign of King Pandukabhaya and under continuous development for the next thousand years, were one of the most complex irrigation systems of the ancient world. In addition to underground canals, the Sinhalese were the first to build completely artificial reservoirs to store water. The system was extensively restored and further extended during the reign of King Parakrama Bahu (1153 – 1186 CE).[10]

The oldest known hydraulic engineers of China were Sunshu Ao (6th century BCE) of the Spring and Autumn Period and Ximen Bao (5th century BCE) of the Warring States period, both of whom worked on large irrigation projects. In the Szechwan region belonging to the State of Qin of ancient China, the Dujiangyan Irrigation System was built in 256 BCE to irrigate an enormous area of farmland that today still supplies water.[11] By the 2nd century AD, during the Han Dynasty, the Chinese also used chain pumps that lifted water from lower elevation to higher elevation.[12] These were powered by manual foot pedal, hydraulic waterwheels, or rotating mechanical wheels pulled by oxen.[13] The water was used for public works of providing water for urban residential quarters and palace gardens, but mostly for irrigation of farmland canals and channels in the fields.[14]

In fifteenth century Korea the world's first water gauge, woo ryang gyae (Korean:우량계), was discovered in 1441 CE. The inventor was Jang Young Sil, a Korean engineer of the Choson Dynasty, under the active direction of the King, Se Jong. It was installed in irrigation tanks as part of a nationwide system to measure and collect rainfall for agricultural applications. With this instrument, planners and farmers could make better use of the information gathered in the survey.[15]

Present extentBy the middle of the 20th century, the advent of diesel and electric motors led for the first time to systems that could pump groundwater out of major aquifers faster than it was recharged. This can lead to permanent loss of aquifer capacity, decreased water quality, ground subsidence, and other problems. The future of food production in such areas as the North China Plain, the Punjab, and the Great Plains of the US is threatened.

At the global scale 2,788,000 km² (689 million acres) of agricultural land was equipped with irrigation infrastructure around the year 2000. About 68% of the area equipped for irrigation is located in Asia, 17% in America, 9% in Europe, 5% in Africa and 1% in Oceania. The largest contiguous areas of high irrigation density are found in North India and Pakistan along the rivers Ganges and Indus, in the Hai He, Huang He and Yangtze basins in China, along the Nile river in Egypt and Sudan, in the Mississippi-Missouri river basin and in parts of California. Smaller irrigation areas are spread across almost all populated parts of the world.[16]

Types of irrigation

Basin flood irrigation of wheat

Various types of irrigation techniques differ in how the water obtained from the source is distributed within the field. In general, the goal is to supply the entire field uniformly with water, so that each plant has the amount of water it needs, neither too much nor too little.

Surface irrigation

Main article: Surface irrigation

In surface irrigation systems water moves over and across the land by simple gravity flow in order to wet it and to infiltrate into the soil. Surface irrigation can be subdivided into furrow, borderstrip or basin irrigation. It is often called flood irrigation when the irrigation results in flooding or near flooding of the cultivated land. Historically, this has been the most common method of irrigating agricultural land.

Where water levels from the irrigation source permit, the levels are controlled by dikes, usually plugged by soil. This is often seen in terraced rice fields (rice paddies), where the method is used to flood or control the level of water in each distinct field. In some cases, the water is pumped, or lifted by human or animal power to the level of the land.

Localized irrigation

Spray Head

Localized irrigation is a system where water is distributed under low pressure through a piped network, in a pre-determined pattern, and applied as a small discharge to each plant or adjacent to it. Drip irrigation, spray or micro-sprinkler irrigation and bubbler irrigation belong to this category of irrigation methods.[17]

] Drip IrrigationMain article: Drip Irrigation

Drip Irrigation - A dripper in action

Drip irrigation, also known as trickle irrigation, functions as its name suggests. Water is delivered at or near the root zone of plants, drop by drop. This method can be the most water-efficient method of irrigation, if managed properly, since evaporation and runoff are minimized.[citation needed] In modern agriculture, drip irrigation is often combined with plastic mulch, further reducing evaporation, and is also the means of delivery of fertilizer. The process is known as fertigation.

Drip Irrigation Layout and its parts

Deep percolation, where water moves below the root zone, can occur if a drip system is operated for too long of a duration or if the delivery rate is too high. Drip irrigation methods range from very high-tech and computerized to low-tech and labor-intensive. Lower water pressures are usually needed than for most other types of systems, with the exception of low energy center pivot systems and surface irrigation systems, and the system can be designed for uniformity throughout a field or for precise water delivery to individual plants in a landscape containing a mix of plant species. Although it is difficult to regulate pressure on steep slopes, pressure compensating emitters are available, so the field does not have to be level. High-tech solutions involve precisely calibrated emitters located along lines of tubing that extend from a computerized set of valves. Both pressure regulation and filtration to remove particles are important. The tubes are usually black (or buried under soil or mulch) to prevent the growth of algae and to protect the polyethylene from degradation due to ultraviolet light. But drip irrigation can also be as low-tech as a porous clay vessel sunk into the soil and occasionally filled from a hose or bucket. Subsurface drip irrigation has been used successfully on lawns, but it is more expensive than a more traditional sprinkler system. Surface drip systems are not cost-effective

(or aesthetically pleasing) for lawns and golf courses. In the past one of the main disadvantages of the subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) systems, when used for turf, was the fact of having to install the plastic lines very close to each other in the ground, therefore disrupting the turfgrass area. Recent technology developments on drip installers like the drip installer at New Mexico State University Arrow Head Center, places the line underground and covers the slit leaving no soil exposed.

] Sprinkler irrigation

Sprinkler irrigation of blueberries in Plainville, New York

In sprinkler or overhead irrigation, water is piped to one or more central locations within the field and distributed by overhead high-pressure sprinklers or guns. A system utilizing sprinklers, sprays, or guns mounted overhead on permanently installed risers is often referred to as a solid-set irrigation system. Higher pressure sprinklers that rotate are called rotors and are driven by a ball drive, gear drive, or impact mechanism. Rotors can be designed to rotate in a full or partial circle. Guns are similar to rotors, except that they generally operate at very high pressures of 40 to 130 lbf/in² (275 to 900 kPa) and flows of 50 to 1200 US gal/min (3 to 76 L/s), usually with nozzle diameters in the range of 0.5 to 1.9 inches (10 to 50 mm). Guns are used not only for irrigation, but also for industrial applications such as dust suppression and logging.

A travelling sprinkler at Millets Farm Centre, Oxfordshire, UK

Sprinklers may also be mounted on moving platforms connected to the water source by a hose. Automatically moving wheeled systems known as traveling sprinklers may irrigate areas such as

small farms, sports fields, parks, pastures, and cemeteries unattended. Most of these utilize a length of polyethylene tubing wound on a steel drum. As the tubing is wound on the drum powered by the irrigation water or a small gas engine, the sprinkler is pulled across the field. When the sprinkler arrives back at the reel the system shuts off. This type of system is known to most people as a "waterreel" traveling irrigation sprinkler and they are used extensively for dust suppression, irrigation, and land application of waste water. Other travelers use a flat rubber hose that is dragged along behind while the sprinkler platform is pulled by a cable. These cable-type travelers are definitely old technology and their use is limited in today's modern irrigation projects.

Center pivot irrigation

The hub of a center-pivot irrigation system.

Center pivot irrigation is a form of sprinkler irrigation consisting of several segments of pipe (usually galvanized steel or aluminum) joined together and supported by trusses, mounted on wheeled towers with sprinklers positioned along its length. The system moves in a circular pattern and is fed with water from the pivot point at the center of the arc. These systems are common in parts of the United States where terrain is flat.

Center pivot with drop sprinklers. Photo by Gene Alexander, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Most center pivot systems now have drops hanging from a u-shaped pipe called a gooseneck attached at the top of the pipe with sprinkler heads that are positioned a few feet (at most) above the crop, thus limiting evaporative losses. Drops can also be used with drag hoses or bubblers that deposit the water directly on the ground between crops. The crops are planted in a circle to conform to the center pivot. This type of system is known as LEPA (Low Energy Precision Application). Originally, most center pivots were water powered. These were replaced by hydraulic systems (T-L Irrigation) and electric motor driven systems (Lindsay, Reinke, Valley, Zimmatic, Pierce, Grupo Chamartin. Most systems today are driven by an electric motor mounted low on each span. This drives a reduction gearbox and transverse driveshafts transmit power to another reduction gearbox mounted behind each wheel. Precision controls, some with GPS location and remote computer monitoring, are now available.

Wheel line irrigation system in Idaho. 2001. Photo by Joel McNee, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Lateral move (side roll, wheel line) irrigation

A series of pipes, each with a wheel of about 1.5 m diameter permanently affixed to its midpoint and sprinklers along its length, are coupled together at one edge of a field. Water is supplied at one end using a large hose. After sufficient water has been applied, the hose is removed and the remaining assembly rotated either by hand or with a purpose-built mechanism, so that the sprinklers move 10 m across the field. The hose is reconnected. The process is repeated until the opposite edge of the field is reached. This system is less expensive to install than a center pivot, but much more labor intensive to operate, and it is limited in the amount of water it can carry. Most systems utilize 4 or 5-inch (130 mm) diameter aluminum pipe. One feature of a lateral move system is that it consists of sections that can be easily disconnected. They are most often used for small or oddly-shaped fields, such as those found in hilly or mountainous regions, or in regions where labor is inexpensive.

] Sub-irrigation

Subirrigation also sometimes called seepage irrigation has been used for many years in field crops in areas with high water tables. It is a method of artificially raising the water table to allow the soil to be moistened from below the plants' root zone. Often those systems are located on permanent grasslands in lowlands or river valleys and combined with drainage infrastructure. A

system of pumping stations, canals, weirs and gates allows it to increase or decrease the water level in a network of ditches and thereby control the water table.

Sub-irrigation is also used in commercial greenhouse production, usually for potted plants. Water is delivered from below, absorbed upwards, and the excess collected for recycling. Typically, a solution of water and nutrients floods a container or flows through a trough for a short period of time, 10-20 minutes, and is then pumped back into a holding tank for reuse. Sub-irrigation in greenhouses requires fairly sophisticated, expensive equipment and management. Advantages are water and nutrient conservation, and labor-saving through lowered system maintenance and automation. It is similar in principle and action to subsurface drip irrigation.

Manual irrigation using buckets or watering cans

These systems have low requirements for infrastructure and technical equipment but need high labor inputs. Irrigation using watering cans is to be found for example in peri-urban agriculture around large cities in some African countries.

Automatic, non-electric irrigation using buckets and ropes

Besides the common manual watering by bucket, an automated, natural version of this also exist. Using plain polyester ropes combined with a prepared ground mixture can be used to water plants from a vessel filled with water.[18][19] [20] The ground mixture would need to be made depending on the plant itself, yet would mostly consist of black potting soil, vermiculite and perlite. This system would (with certain crops) allow you to save expenses as it does not consume any electricity and only little water (unlike sprinklers, water timers, ...). However, it may only be used with certain crops (probably mostly larger crops that do not need a humid environment; perhaps e.g. paprika's).

Irrigation using stones to catch water from humid air

In countries where at night, humid air sweeps the countryside, stones are used to catch water from the humid air by condensation. This is for example practiced in the vineyards at Lanzarote.

Dry terraces for irrigation and water distribution

In subtropical countries as Mali and Senegal, a special type of terracing (without flood irrigation or intent to flatten farming ground) is used. Here, a 'stairs' is made through the use of ground level differences which helps to decrease water evaporation and also distributes the water to all patches (sort of irrigation).

Sources of irrigation waterSources of irrigation water can be groundwater extracted from springs or by using wells, surface water withdrawn from rivers, lakes or reservoirs or non-conventional sources like treated wastewater, desalinated water or drainage water. A special form of irrigation using surface water

is spate irrigation, also called floodwater harvesting. In case of a flood (spate) water is diverted to normally dry river beds (wadi’s) using a network of dams, gates and channels and spread over large areas. The moisture stored in the soil will be used thereafter to grow crops. Spate irrigation areas are in particular located in semi-arid or arid, mountainous regions. While floodwater harvesting belongs to the accepted irrigation methods, rainwater harvesting is usually not considered as a form of irrigation. Rainwater harvesting is the collection of runoff water from roofs or unused land and the concentration of this water on cultivated land. Therefore this method is considered as a water concentration method.

How an in-ground irrigation system worksMost commercial and residential irrigation systems are "in ground" systems, which means that everything is buried in the ground. With the pipes, sprinklers, and irrigation valves being hidden, it makes for a cleaner, more presentable landscape without garden hoses or other items having to be moved around manually.

Water source and piping

The beginning of a sprinkler system is the water source. This is usually a tap into an existing (city) water line or a pump that pulls water out of a well or a pond. The water travels through pipes from the water source through the valves to the sprinklers. The pipes from the water source up to the irrigation valves are called "mainlines", and the lines from the valves to the sprinklers are called "lateral lines". Most piping used in irrigation systems today are HDPE and MDPE or PVC or PEX plastic pressure pipes due to their ease of installation and resistance to corrosion. After the water source, the water usually travels through a check valve. This prevents water in the irrigation lines from being pulled back into and contaminating the clean water supply.

Controllers, zones, and valves

Most Irrigation systems are divided into zones. A zone is a single Irrigation Valve and one or a group of sprinklers that are connected by pipes. Irrigation Systems are divided into zones because there is usually not enough pressure and available flow to run sprinklers for an entire yard or sports field at once. Each zone has a solenoid valve on it that is controlled via wire by an Irrigation Controller. The Irrigation Controller is either a mechanical or electrical device that signals a zone to turn on at a specific time and keeps it on for a specified amount of time. "Smart Controller" is a recent term used to describe a controller that is capable of adjusting the watering time by itself in response to current environmental conditions. The smart controller determines current conditions by means of historic weather data for the local area, a moisture sensor (water potential or water content), weather station, or a combination of these.

Sprinklers

When a zone comes on, the water flows through the lateral lines and ultimately ends up at the irrigation Sprinkler heads. Most sprinklers have pipe thread inlets on the bottom of them which allows a fitting and the pipe to be attached to them. The sprinklers are usually installed with the

top of the head flush with the ground surface. When the water is pressurized, the head will pop up out of the ground and water the desired area until the valve closes and shuts off that zone. Once there is no more water pressure in the lateral line, the sprinkler head will retract back into the ground.

Problems in irrigation Competition for surface water rights. Depletion of underground aquifers.

Ground subsidence (e.g. New Orleans, Louisiana)

Underirrigation gives poor salinity control which leads to increased soil salinity with consequent build up of toxic salts on soil surface in areas with high evaporation. This requires either leaching to remove these salts and a method of drainage to carry the salts away or use of mulch to minimize evaporation.

Overirrigation because of poor distribution uniformity or management wastes water, chemicals, and may lead to water pollution.

Deep drainage (from over-irrigation) may result in rising water tables which in some instances will lead to problems of irrigation salinity.

Irrigation with saline or high-sodium water may damage soil structure.

Surface irrigationFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Afghan farmers digging an irrigation canal, 2005

Surface irrigation is defined as the group of application techniques where water is applied and distributed over the soil surface by gravity. It is by far the most common form of irrigation throughout the world and has been practiced in many areas virtually unchanged for thousands of years.

Surface irrigation is often referred to as flood irrigation, implying that the water distribution is uncontrolled and therefore, inherently inefficient. In reality, some of the irrigation practices grouped under this name involve a significant degree of management (for example surge irrigation). Surface irrigation comes in three major types; level basin, furrow and border strip.

Basin Irrigation

Level basin flood irrigation on wheat

Level basin irrigation has historically been used in small areas having level surfaces that are surrounded by earth banks. The water is applied rapidly to the entire basin and is allowed to infiltrate. Basins may be linked sequentially so that drainage from one basin is diverted into the next once the desired soil water deficit is satisfied. A “closed” type basin is one where no water is drained from the basin. Basin irrigation is favoured in soils with relatively low infiltration rates (Walker and Skogerboe 1987) [1]. Fields are typically set up to follow the natural contours of the land but the introduction of laser levelling and land grading has permitted the construction of large rectangular basins that are more appropriate for mechanised broadacre cropping.

Furrow Irrigation

Furrow irrigation system using siphon tubes

Furrow irrigation is conducted by creating small parallel channels along the field length in the direction of predominant slope. Water is applied to the top end of each furrow and flows down the field under the influence of gravity. Water may be supplied using gated pipe, siphon and head ditch or bankless systems. The speed of water movement is determined by many factors such as slope, surface roughness and furrow shape but most importantly by the inflow rate and soil infiltration rate. The spacing between adjacent furrows is governed by the crop species, common spacings typically range from 0.75 to 2 metres. The crop is planted on the ridge between furrows which may contain a single row of plants or several rows in the case of a bed type system. Furrows may range anywhere from less than 100 m to 2000 m long depending on the soil type,

location and crop type. Shorter furrows are commonly associated with higher uniformity of application but result in increasing potential for runoff losses. Furrow irrigation is particularly suited to broad-acre row crops such as cotton, maize and sugar cane. It is also practiced in various horticultural industries such as citrus, stone-fruit and tomatoes.

Bay/Border Strip IrrigationBorder strip or bay irrigation could be considered as a hybrid of level basin and furrow irrigation. The borders of the irrigated strip are longer and the strips are narrower than for basin irrigation and are orientated to align lengthwise with the slope of the field. The water is applied to the top end of the bay, which is usually constructed to facilitate free-flowing conditions at the downstream end. One common use of this technique includes the irrigation of pasture for dairy production.

Drainage after harvest or in rainy season

Blueberry tree-field being drained by ditches in the rainy season by a commercial grower in Belgium

Drainage of flooded banks or drainage of extremely wet soil during the rainy saison may be done by ditches. Drainage by ditches may be done with crops that require the soil to be wet but not completely saturated (and sometimes, especially not at certain times of year). An example is blueberries. In the rainy season/winter, they require drier soil.

, Drip irrigationFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Drip Irrigation - A dripper in actionMain article: Irrigation

Drip irrigation, also known as trickle irrigation or microirrigation is an irrigation method which minimizes the use of water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone, through a network of valves, pipes, tubing, and emitters.

Modern drip irrigation has arguably become the world's most valued innovation in agriculture since the invention of the impact sprinkler in the 1930s, which replaced flood irrigation. Drip irrigation may also use devices called micro-spray heads, which spray water in a small area, instead of dripping emitters. These are generally used on tree and vine crops with wider root zones. Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) uses permanently or temporarily buried dripperline or drip tape located at or below the plant roots. It is becoming popular for row crop irrigation, especially in areas where water supplies are limited or recycled water is used for irrigation. Careful study of all the relevant factors like land topography, soil, water, crop and agro-climatic conditions are needed to determine the most suitable drip irrigation system and components to be used in a specific installation.

HistoryDrip irrigation has been used since ancient times when buried clay pots were filled with water, which would gradually seep into the grass. Modern drip irrigation began its development in Afghanistan in 1866 when researchers began experimenting with irrigation using clay pipe to create combination irrigation and drainage systems[citation needed]. In 1913, E.B. House at Colorado State University succeeded in applying water to the root zone of plants without raising the water table. Perforated pipe was introduced in Germany in the 1920s and in 1934, O.E. Nobey experimented with irrigating through porous canvas hose at Michigan State University[citation needed].

Drip irrigation in New Mexico vineyard, 2002

With the advent of modern plastics during and after World War II, major improvements in drip irrigation became possible. Plastic microtubing and various types of emitters began to be used in the greenhouses of Europe and the United States.

The modern technology of drip irrigation was invented in Israel by Simcha Blass and his son Yeshayahu. Instead of releasing water through tiny holes, blocked easily by tiny particles, water was released through larger and longer passageways by using velocity to slow water inside a plastic emitter. The first experimental system of this type was established in 1959 when Blass partnered with Kibbutz Hatzerim to create an irrigation company called Netafim. Together they developed and patented the first practical surface drip irrigation emitter. This method was very successful and subsequently spread to Australia, North America, and South America by the late 1960s.

In the United States, in the early 1960s, the first drip tape, called Dew Hose, was developed by Richard Chapin of Chapin Watermatics (first system established during 1964). [1] Beginning in 1989, Jain irrigation helped pioneer effective water-management through drip irrigation in India. Jain irrigation also introduced some drip irrigation marketing approaches to Indian agriculture such as `Integrated System Approach’, One-Stop-Shop for Farmers, `Infrastructure Status to Drip Irrigation & Farm as Industry.’ The latest developments in the field involve even further reduction in drip rates being delivered and less tendency to clog.

Components and operation

Drip Irrigation System Layout and its parts

Components (listed in order from water source)

Pump or pressurized water source Water Filter(s) - Filtration Systems: Sand Separator like Hydro-Cyclone, Screen Filter,

Media Filters

Fertigation Systems (Venturi injector) and Chemigation Equipment (optional)

Backwash Controller

Main Line (larger diameter Pipe and Pipe Fittings)

Hand-operated, electronic, or hydraulic Control Valves and Safety Valves

Smaller diameter polytube (often referred to as "laterals")

Poly fittings and Accessories (to make connections)

Emitting Devices at plants (ex. Emitter or Drippers, micro spray heads, inline drippers, trickle rings)

Note that in Drip irrigation systems Pump and valves may be manually or automatically operated by a controller.

Most large drip irrigation systems employ some type of filter to prevent clogging of the small emitter flow path by small waterborne particles. New technologies are now being offered that minimize clogging. Some residential systems are installed without additional filters since potable water is already filtered at the water treatment plant. Virtually all drip irrigation equipment manufacturers recommend that filters be employed and generally will not honor warranties unless this is done. Last line filters just before the final delivery pipe are strongly recommended in addition to any other filtration system due to fine particle settlement and accidental insertion of particles in the intermediate lines.

Drip and subsurface drip irrigation is used almost exclusively when using recycled municipal waste water. Regulations typically do not permit spraying water through the air that has not been fully treated to potable water standards.

Because of the way the water is applied in a drip system, traditional surface applications of timed-release fertilizer are sometimes ineffective, so drip systems often mix liquid fertilizer with the irrigation water. This is called fertigation; fertigation and chemigation (application of pesticides and other chemicals to periodically clean out the system, such as chlorine or sulfuric acid) use chemical injector such as diaphragm pumps, piston pumps, or venturi pumps. The chemicals may be added constantly whenever the system is irrigating or at intervals. Fertilizer savings of up to 95% are being reported from recent university field tests using drip fertigation and slow water delivery as compared to timed-release and irrigation by micro spray heads.

If properly designed, installed, and managed, drip irrigation may help achieve water conservation by reducing evaporation and deep drainage when compared to other types of irrigation such as flood or overhead sprinklers since water can be more precisely applied to the plant roots. In addition, drip can eliminate many diseases that are spread through water contact with the foliage. Finally, in regions where water supplies are severely limited, there may be no actual water savings, but rather simply an increase in production while using the same amount of water as before. In very arid regions or on sandy soils, the trick is to apply the irrigation water as slowly as possible.

Pulsed irrigation is sometimes used to decrease the amount of water delivered to the plant at any one time, thus reducing runoff or deep percolation. Pulsed systems are typically expensive and require extensive maintenance. Therefore, the latest efforts by emitter manufacturers are focused toward developing new technologies that deliver irrigation water at ultra-low flow rates, i.e. less than 1.0 liter per hour. Slow and even delivery further improves water use efficiency without incurring the expense and complexity of pulsed delivery equipment.

Drip irrigation is used by farms, commercial greenhouses, and residential gardeners.Drip irrigation is adopted extensively in areas of acute water scarcity and especially for crops such as coconuts, containerized landscape trees, grapes, bananas, ber, brinjal, citrus, strawberries, sugarcane, cotton, maize, and tomatoes.

Garden drip irrigation kits are increasingly popular for the homeowner and consist of a timer, hose and emitter.

Advantage / disadvantages of drip irrigationThe advantages of drip irrigation are:

Minimized fertilizer/nutrient loss due to localized application and reduced leaching. High water application efficiency.

Leveling of the field not necessary.

Ability to irrigate irregular shaped fields.

Allows safe use of recycled water.

Moisture within the root zone can be maintained at field capacity.

Soil type plays less important role in frequency of irrigation.

Minimized soil erosion.

Highly uniform distribution of water i.e., controlled by output of each nozzle.

Lower labour cost.

Variation in supply can be regulated by regulating the valves and drippers.

Fertigation can easily be included with minimal waste of fertilizers.

Foliage remains dry thus reducing the risk of disease.

Usually operated at lower pressure than other types of pressurised irrigation, reducing energy costs.

The disadvantages of drip irrigation are:

Expense. Initial cost can be more than overhead systems. Waste. The sun can affect the tubes used for drip irrigation, shortening their usable life.

Longevity is variable.

Clogging. If the water is not properly filtered and the equipment not properly maintained, it can result in clogging.

Drip irrigation might be unsatisfactory if herbicides or top dressed fertilizers need sprinkler irrigation for activation.

Drip tape causes extra cleanup costs after harvest. You'll need to plan for drip tape winding, disposal, recycling or reuse.

Waste of water, time & harvest, if not installed properly. These systems requires careful study of all the relevant factors like land topography, soil, water, crop and agro-climatic conditions, and suitability of drip irrigation system and its components.

Germination Problems. In lighter soils subsurface drip may be unable to wet the soil surface for germination. Requires careful consideration of the installation depth.

DripperlineA dripperline is a type of drip irrigation tubing with emitters pre-installed at the factory.

EmitterAn emitter is also called a dripper and is used to transfer water from a pipe or tube to the area that is to be irrigated. Typical emitter flow rates are from 0.16 to 4.0 US gallons per hour (0.6 to 16 L/h). In many emitters, flow will vary with pressure, while some emitters are pressure compensating. These emitters employ silicone It can also reduce weeds .diaphragms or other

means to allow them to maintain a near-constant flow over a range of pressures, for example from 10 to 50 psi (70 to 350 kPa).

Center pivot irrigationFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Pivot irrigation in progress.

Center-pivot irrigation (sometimes called central pivot irrigation), also called circle irrigation, is a method of crop irrigation in which equipment rotates around a pivot. A circular area centered on the pivot is irrigated, often creating a circular pattern in crops when viewed from above.

The hub of a center-pivot irrigation system.

Aerial view of landscape with many center pivot irrigation systems.

Central pivot irrigation is a form of overhead (sprinkler) irrigation consisting of several segments of pipe (usually galvanized steel or aluminium) joined together and supported by trusses,

mounted on wheeled towers with sprinklers positioned along its length. The system moves in a circular pattern and is fed with water from the pivot point at the center of the circle. The outside set of wheels sets the master pace for the rotation (typically once every three days). The inner sets of wheels are mounted at hubs between two segments and use angle sensors to detect when the bend at the joint exceeds a certain threshold, and thus, the wheels should be rotated to keep the segments aligned. Centre pivots are typically less than 500m in length (circle radius) with the most common size being the standard 1/4 mile machine (400 m). In order to achieve uniform application centre pivots require a continuously variable emitter flow rate across the radius of the machine. Nozzle sizes are smallest at in the inner spans to achieve low flow rates and increase with distance from the pivot point.

Most center pivot systems now have drops hanging from a u-shaped pipe called a gooseneck attached at the top of the pipe with sprinkler heads that are positioned a few feet (at most) above the crop, thus limiting evaporative losses and wind drift. There are many different nozzle configurations available including static plate, moving plate and part circle. Pressure regulators are typically installed upstream of each nozzle to ensure each is operating at the correct design pressure. Drops can also be used with drag hoses or bubblers that deposit the water directly on the ground between crops. This type of system is known as LEPA (Low Energy Precision Application) and is often associated with the construction of small dams along the furrow length (termed furrow diking/dyking). Crops may be planted in straight rows or are sometimes planted in circles to conform to the travel of the center pivot.

Originally, most center pivots were water-powered. These were replaced by hydraulic systems and electric motor-driven systems. Most systems today are driven by an electric motor mounted at each tower.

Terrain needs to be reasonably flat, but one major advantage of centre pivots over alternative systems is the ability to function in undulating country. The system is in use, for example, in parts of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and also in desert areas such as the Sahara and the Middle East.

Linear/Lateral Move Irrigation MachinesThe above mentioned equipment can also be configured to move in a straight line where it is termed a linear move or lateral move irrigation system. In this case the water is supplied by a irrigation channel running the length of the field and positioned either at one side or midway across the field width. The motor and pump equipment is mounted on a cart adjacent to the supply channel that travels with the machine. Farmers may opt for linear moves to conform to existing rectangular field designs such as those converting from furrow irrigation. Lateral moves are far less common, rely on more complex guidance systems and require additional management than compared to centre pivot systems. Lateral moves are common in Australia and typically range between 500-1000m in length.