1. FMP - 211 Lecture - 7
Er.A.Sivarajan
Assistant Professor
Department of Agriculture Engineering
CAT, Theni
E-mail: sivamalai17@gmail.com
2. Introduction
This Tillage operations following primary tillage are……
Performed to create proper soil tilth for seeding and planting.
These are lighter and finer operations, performed on the soil after primary
tillage operations.
These operations consume less power per unit area.
Secondary tillage implements may be tractor drawn or bullock drawn
implements.
3. Objectives of secondary tillage
To pulverize the soil of the seedbeds in the field.
To destroy grasses and weeds in the field.
To cut crop residues and mix them with top soil.
To break the big clods and to make the field surface uniform and
leveled for seed bed preparation.
The implements used for secondary tillage operations are called
secondary tillage implements
Ex. 1.harrow, 2.cultivators, 3.rotovators, 4.puddlers, 5.levellers,
6.bund formers, 7.ridge ploughsetc.
4. 1. Harrow
HARROWING
Which pulverizes, smoothens and packs the soil in seed bed
preparation and/or to control weeds.
The implement is used to harrowing operation is called harrow.
To cuts the soil to a shallow depth for smoothening and pulverizing
the soil as well as to cut the weeds and to mix the materials with
the soil.
5. Types of harrow
Types of
harrow
Disc harrow
Single action
Double action
Drag harrow
Spike tooth
harrow
Spring tooth
harrow
Triangular
harrow
Reciprocating
power harrow
Blade harrow
Tandem Disc harrow
Off-set Disc harrow
6. Disc Harrow
Perform the harrowing operation by
means of a set (or) a number of sets of
rotating steel discs.
Each set being mounted on a common
shaft.
Disc harrows are of two types depending
upon the sources of power
1. Tractor drawn
2. Animal drawn
7. 1.Tractor drawn disc harrow
Suitable for hard ground with stalks and grasses.
Cuts the lumps of soil, clods and roots.
Discs are mounted on one, two or more axles may be set at a variable
angle to the line of motion.
As the harrow is pulled ahead, the discs rotate on the ground.
Depending upon the disc arrangements, disc harrows are divided into
two classes
(i) Single action
(ii) Double action
8. (i) Single Action Disc Harrow
A harrow with two gangs placed end to end, which throw the soil in
opposite directions.
The discs are arranged in such a way that right side gang throws the
soil towards right and left side gang throws the soil towards left.
9. (ii)Double action disc harrow
A disc harrow consisting of two or more gangs
In which a set of one or two gangs follow behind the set of the other
one or two, arranged in such a way that the front and back gangs
throw the soil in opposite directions.
The entire field is worked twice in each trip.
It may be of two types
(a) Tandem disc harrow
(b) Off-set disc harrow
10. (a) Tandem disc harrow
A disc harrow comprising of four gangs in which each
gang can be angled in opposite direction.
11. A disc harrow with two gangs in tandem,
capable of being off-set to either side of
the centre line of pull.
Two gangs are fitted one behind the
other.
The soil is thrown in both directions
because discs of both gangs face in
opposite directions.
Very useful for orchards and gardens.
It travels left or right of the tractor
(b) Off-set disc harrow
12. Components of disc harrow
A disc harrow consists of:
1. Disc,
2. Gang,
3. Gang bolt,
4. Gang angle,
5. Gang control lever
6. Spools or space
7. Bearings,
8. Transport wheel
9. Scraper
10. Weight box
13. 1.Disc
It is a circular, concave revolving steel plate used for cutting and
inverting the soil.
Disc is made of high grade heat treated hardened steel.
Tractor drawn disc harrows have concave discs of size varying from
35 to 70 cm diameter.
Concavity of the disc affects penetration and pulverization of soil.
Usually two types of disc are used in disc harrows:
1. Plain disc
2. Cut-away disc
14. Plain discs have plain edges-used for
normal works.
Cut-away discs have serrated edges
Cut stalks, grasses and other vegetative
matter better than plain discs.
Cut-away discs are not very effective for
pulverization of soil
Very useful for puddling the field
especially for paddy cultivation.
15. 2.Gang:Assembly of concave discs mounted on a common shaft with spools in
between.
3.Gang axle: A shaft on which a set of discs are mounted. The spacing between the
discs on the gang bolt ranges from 15cm to 23cm for light duty harrows and 25
to 30 cm for heavy duty harrows.
4.Gang angle:The angle between the axis of the gang and the line perpendicular to
the direction of travel.
5.Gang control lever: A lever which operates the angling mechanism of disc
harrow.
6.Spool or Spacer: The flanged tube, mounted on the gang axle between every two
discs to retain them at fixed position laterally on the shaft is called spool or
spacer(a device for keeping the discs at equal spacing on the axle).
16. Essential to counteract the end thrust of the
gangs due to soil thrust.
Disc harrow bearings are subjected to heavy
radial and thrust loads. (Chilled cast iron
bearings, ball bearings or tapered roller
bearings may be used on disc harrows).
7. Bearing:
17. Oil soaked wooden bearings are very common for disc harrows.
Chilled cast iron bearings are also used due to their durability.
7. Bearing:
18. 8.Transport wheel: Transport wheels are provided for
transport work on roads and for preventing the
damage of the roads and helps in protecting the
edges of the discs.
9.Scraper: Prevents the discs from clogging. It
removes the soil that may stick to the concave side
of the disc.
10.Weight box: A box like frame is provided on the
main frame of the harrow for putting additional
weight on implement increase the penetration of
the disc in the soil.
20. Adjustments For Obtaining Higher Penetration
1. Increasing the gang angle
2. Adding weights
3. Lowering the hitch point
4. Using sharp edged discs of small diameter and
lesser concavity
5. Regulating the speed (penetration is better in low
speeds than in high speeds)
21. Spike tooth harrows
Spike tooth harrows are either rigid or flexible. The flexible type
tractor drawn can be rolled up for transporting.
Animal drawn harrows are always of rigid frame type.
Basic frame of the harrow may be triangle.
It has pointed steel pegs (teeth) with their pointed ends towards ground
The harrow is dragged over the surface by means of a chain or rope
tied to the yoke.
Animal drawn harrows cover almost 1 to 1.2m width and are used to
stir the soil to a depth of 5 cm.
22.
23. Spring Tooth Harrow
It is fitted with spring having loops of elliptical spring like tynes.
But the animal drawn unit is only provided with elliptical tynes.
Used to prepare ploughed land before planting
It penetrate much deeper than spike tooth harrows and are generally
used in the soil where obstructions like stones, roots and weeds are
hidden a few centimeters below the surface.
Basic frame of the harrow is mostly rectangular.
Spike tooth and spring tyne harrows do not require lubrication.
Teeth may also be removed for sharpening.
25. Acme Harrow
It is a special type of animal
drawn harrow having a transverse
horizontal frame with stiff curved
blades.
The front part of the knife breaks
the soil and crushes the clods.
This harrow obtains a good
pulverization.
It is good for creating soil mulch.
26. Patela
It is used for smoothening the soil
and crushing the weeds.
It is made of a wooden plank with
a number of curved steel hooks
bolted to a steel angle section,
which is fixed to the rear side of
the plank.
The cutting edge levels and packs
the soil and the curved hooks
uproot and collect the weeds.
27. Triangular Harrow
It is a spike tooth harrow with triangular frame.
The frame is made of wood and pointed spikes are fitted in the frame.
28. Blade Harrow (Bakhar ) or Guntaka
It is an animal drawn implement used to prepare seedbeds in clayey
soils and soil mulch for soil moisture conservation.
It consists of one or more blades attached to a beam which works at
shallow depth with minimum or nil soil inversion.
29. Reciprocating Power Harrow
It pulverizes the upper and lower layer of soil without turning them up
side down and thus it forms a good seed bed as well as good soil mulch.
It consists of two horizontal cross bars fitted with rigid pegs which
reciprocate taking power from the PTO of a tractor.
The two bars move in opposite directions and hence the implement is
dynamically balanced.
The oscillating pegs break the clods and pulverizes the soil to a fine
tilth.
The width of the operation is 2000 mm. and the field capacity is around
1.5 ha/day
30.
31. 2.Bund Former
Used for making bunds or ridges by collecting the soil.
Bunds are required to hold water in the soil to conserve moisture
and prevent run-off.
32. 2.Bund Former
The size of the bund former
is determined by measuring
the maximum horizontal
distance between the two
rear ends of the farming
boards.
33. 3.leveller
In irrigated areas land leveling is an essential operation for farming.
Level fields receive uniform penetration of irrigation water with
high efficiency.
Water logging and soil erosion is reduced.
Common type of field levelers used by farmers wooden logs or
planks.
Operated in ploughed land to collect loose soil from high spots and
dump it into depressions.
35. Land leveling: Expected to bring permanent improvement in the value
of land.
Objectives…..
Efficient application of irrigation water
Improved surface drainage
Minimum soil erosion
Increased conservation of rain water (specially on dry lands) .
Provision of an adequate field size and even
Topography for efficient mechanization.
36. 4. Ridger
Double mould board plough
An implement used to form ridges required for sowing row crop
seeds and plants in well-tilled soil.
Used for forming field or channels, earthing up and similar other
operations.
The ridger generally has “V” shaped or wedge shaped share fitted to
the frog.
The nose or tip of share penetrates into the soil and breaks the earth.
The mould boards lift, invert and cast aside the soil, forming deep
channels and ridges of the required size.
37.
38. 5. Puddler
It used for churning the soil with water to prepare paddy fields with
standing water (5-10 cm depth) after initial ploughing.
Purpose:
1. To reduce leaching of water or decrease percolation of water
2. To kill weeds by decomposition
3. To facilitate transplantation of paddy seedlings by making the soil
softer.
A common puddler has puddling units each having four straight blades or
paddles or fan type blades or squirrel type blade mounted on an axle.
Puddling is done in standing water of 5-10 cm depth.
40. 6.Green manure trampler
Slat type
trampler
• Long radial slats are fixed to the central axis through
the supporting disc
Disc type
trampler
• A number of flat discs are fitted to the central axis
To cut the plants and burry in the soil.
No soil inversion is required in this case.
It is a bullock drawn implement used to trample and press the green
manure crop in the field.
41. 7. cage wheel
This is an iron wheel lugged with L angles.
The tractor will not work satisfactory in puddling of wet lands with
the rubber lugged tyre wheel due to wheel slippage.
To overcome this iron wheel have been introduced.
Normally 12L angles lugs are provided & spaced equally
Two types– (i) Half cage wheel - 0.5m
(ii) Full cage wheel -1m
43. 8.Rotovator
It is widely considered as the most important implement as it provides
fine degree of soil pulverization.
The power from the tractor engine is transmitted to the rotary tiller(
rotavator) through PTO of the tractor.
A leveling board is attached to the rear side of the unit for leveling the
tilled soil.
Types of blades
i. 'L' type blade
ii. Twisted blade
iii. Straight blade
44. 9.SOIL SCOOP
It used for excavating ditches , clearing drains and doing cut and fill
jobs in land leveling .
It consists of a trough, a blade , hitching loop and handle.
