Draft, Specific Draft and Drawbar Power Requirement of Chisel Plow at Different Levels of Soil Moisture Content and Plowing Depth

The effects of three levels of soil moisture content (8-10, 10-12 and 12-14% d.b.) and three levels of plowing depth (15, 20 and 25 cm) on draft, specific draft and drawbar power requirement of a 7-shank chisel plow in a clay loam soil were investigated. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with a 3×4 factorial. The effect of plowing depth on all of the parameters mentioned was highly significant. Implement draft and drawbar power requirement both increased with plowing depth, whereas a decreasing trend of specific draft with depth was observed. Soil moisture content had no significant effect on draft and specific draft of chisel plow in the range of moisture contents studied, though both parameters were minimized at 10-12% m.c. At this moisture level, the drawbar power requirement showed a significant reduction comparing with the other two moisture levels. This indicated that the soil was close to its optimum friability at this moisture content. Soil penetrometer readings, taken before and after plowing, indicated the existence of a hardpan from about 8 to 20 cm below the surface which was broken by chisel tines, but another hard layer formed under the plowing depth by the chisel points. Comparison of the results from the present study with those from the previously published works on chisel plow draft at similar plowing depths showed that the values obtained for draft and specific draft were acceptably close to those previous investigators. Also, a comparison with the findings of Loghavi and Moradi on moldboard plow draft under similar conditions confirmed the reports of previous investigators to the effect that a chisel plow requires approximately one-half of the draft of a moldboard plow with the same working width and depth.