EFFECT OF PLOUGHING AND PLANTING DEPTHS ON DRAFT OF DUAL-PURPOSE MOULDBOARD PLOUGH CUM PLANTER

This study presents an experimental inquiry into the effects of two independent variables on the draft force of a mouldboard plough/planter: planting depth (0 – 5 and 6 – 10 cm) and plowing depth (6 – 10 and 11 – 15 cm). A dual-purpose mouldboard plough/planter was developed to expedite the cultivation of maize by speeding up the ploughing and planting processes. Based on planting and ploughing depths, the draft force of the implement was evaluated. Field experimental procedures were used to conduct the trials, and parametric testing was used to analyze the data. The final formula for calculating the draft force depends on a number of soils engineering characteristics, including soil bulk density and type, tool specifications, such as cutting width and implement weight, and operational factors, such as ploughing depth and moisture content. The study's findings show that ploughing depth has a greater impact on a mouldboard plough/planter's draft force; the maximum draft force of 1.5 kN was recorded at planting depths of 6 to 10 cm and ploughing depths of 11 to 15 cm. The data indicates that the draft force of the cum planter is significantly (p~0.05) affected by the depth of ploughing. The ploughing depth and planting depth on draft force were shown to have a strong association in the linear regression model, with a coefficient of determination (R ² = 0.75) for draft force indicating high correlations among the components. Ploughing depths are always responsible for explaining the difference in draft force. The results suggest that any change in the plowing depths provides a considerable forecast of the implement's draft force, since the plowing depth was the largest predictor of the draft force. The best results from the mouldboard plough/planter are achieved when planting and ploughing are done at depths of 0–5 cm and 5–10 cm, respectively.