Concerning the relationship between tilled soil aggregates dimension and power harrow energy requirements

The literature reports energy requirements for several instruments based on different operating conditions and soil properties. However, tillage cannot be evaluated only by its energy consumption alone. Improvements in soil structure and consequent agricultural benefits must also be examined. The number of tine revolutions per meter (called C) is controlled by both the angular speed of the tine rotors and the machine's ground speed, which together allow power harrows to alter the soil's cloddiness. This study seeks to identify relationships between the seedbed quality and the energy needed to operate a power harrow in various configurations. A tractor with a 107 kW rated engine power and a power harrow with a 3 m operating width were tested in the field at the University of Bologna's experimental farm. Tractor metrics such as speed, engine power, fuel rate consumption, draught, and power take-off (PTO) speed and torque were recorded with a datalogger. Field tests were conducted by adjusting C from 2.3 rev rev m−1 to 12.57 rev m−1, following harrowing soil samples were sieved, and important granulometric parameters were computed and correlated with information obtained from the tractor-power harrow system. The findings indicate that high values of implement-soil impact speed are necessary to achieve the best seedbed conditions.