Precision farming systems are being intensively introduced into the agricultural production of the Republic of Kazakhstan. According to developers and dealers, precision farming can reduce the cost of fertilizers, seeds, PPA, fuel and lubricants by 20% on average. At the same time, the efficiency possibilities resulting from the utilization of precision farming systems under certain conditions have not been fully studied. The aim of this work was to assess the influence of parallel and automatic driving systems on the technical, operational and economic indicators of units for sowing, chemical processing, harvesting, and autumn deep tillage using comparative tests in the northern region of the Republic of Kazakhstan. For these purposes, comparative tests were conducted for a seeder for sowing wheat; self-propelled sprayer for chemical weeding of wheat and flax; combine harvester for harvesting wheat; and unit for deep, subsurface tillage in Northern Kazakhstan. The comparative tests determined the impacts of GPS navigation systems, automatic and parallel control systems, and seeding control systems on agricultural, energy, operational, technological and economic performance of units.

The authors have shown that the tillage specific constructive weight affects the working width and penetration ability. In order to increase the working width of the tillage implement, and therefore its performance and economic efficiency as well as its penetration ability, it is preferable to minimize the value of this indicator. It is taken into account that the implement specific structural weight will depend on the actual number of working tools and frame elements per unit of the working width. (Research purpose) The aim of the work is to develop a mathematical model to determine the minimum allowable and actual specific structural weight depending on the tillage implement operating conditions and its structural design and technological scheme. (Materials and methods) The research methodology is based on mathematical modeling, abstraction, analysis, synthesis, and principles of classical mechanics. (Results and discussion) The proposed mathematical model for determining the minimum allowable and actual specific structural weight was developed. The model takes into account the physical and mechanical characteristics of the cultivated soil, the number of working bodies and frame elements per unit of the tillage implement working width. It was found out that an increase in the working width makes it possible to reduce the implement actual specific structural weight, all other things being equal. It was proposed to use the mathematical model for designing tillage tools, carrying out force calculations and comparative assessment of metal consumption, depending on the installation and location of working bodies with different working widths. (Conclusions) It was found out that with the soil ultimate compressive strength of 100,000 pascal, the implement minimum allowable structural weight should be 334 kilograms per meter to ensure the tillage tool penetration to a given depth. Under the considered conditions, the implement actual specific structural weight will have a minimum value at the working width of 0.7 and 0.8 meters – 375 kilograms per meter and 335 kilograms per meter, respectively.

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The article presents the results of evaluating the effectiveness of the use of modern electronic driving systems for machine-tractor units in the precision farming system and comparative tests of a new cultivator-fertilizer for shallow non-moldboard cultivation and subsoil differentiated application of mineral fertilizers in the fallow field of southern chernozems of the northern region of Kazakhstan. In the Republic of Kazakhstan, near and far abroad, technical means for subsoil application to a depth of more than 14 cm with a differentiated application system for nonmoldboard processing are not produced. Therefore, such work has not been carried out, which does not allow evaluating the effectiveness of the use of modern electronic systems for driving aggregates and differentiated application of fertilizers for flat-cutting cultivation on the southern chernozems of the northern region of Kazakhstan. The purpose of the tests is to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of modern electronic driving systems for machine-tractor units in the precision farming system.

The authors carried out field tests of differentiated fertilization system "Agronavigator-Dozator" installed on a cultivator-fertilizer for intra-soil application of granular mineral fertilizers in the conditions of Northern Kazakhstan. (Research purpose) To determine the effect of differentiated fertilization system on agrotechnical, energy, operational and technological and economic indexes of the cultivator-fertilizer in field conditions. (Materials and methods) The authors carried out agrochemical soil survey according to the officially approved method. They made an electronic task map. They used the methodology for determining the conditions of field tests, agrotechnical, energy, operational and technological and energy assessments that met the current regulatory documentation requirements. Field tests of differentiated fertilization system were carried out during the second flat-cut processing of the steam field with simultaneous intra-soil granular mineral fertilizers application. (Results and discussion) The authors found out that the use of differentiated fertilization system "Agronavigator-Dozator" reduced the actual dose of application from 95 to 40 kilograms per hectare. It was determined that the presence of a parallel driving mode in the system under study reduced the amount of overlap of adjacent aisles, thereby increasing shift productivity - from 4.25 to 4.32 hectares per hour, unit energy consumption decreased from 88.1 to 86.6 megajoules per hectare, and the specific fuel consumption decreased from 14.41 to 14.16 kilograms per hectare. The economic effect of the use of differentiated fertilization system "Agronavigator- Dozator " amounted to 630.6 thousand rubles per year. (Conclusions) The authors proved that differential fertilization system "Agronavigator-Dozator" effect the actual dose of fertilization, which decreased by 57.6 percent. It was found that a decrease in the overlap of adjacent aisles increased shift productivity, reduced specific fuel consumption and specific energy consumption by 1.7 percent. It was calculated that the total sum of money was reduced by 36 percent due to the use of differentiated fertilization system "Agronavigator- Dozator".

Results of investigation concerning development of the ОПП-6 tool intended for strip oversowing of grass seeds are reported. The operating procedure realizing by the developed tool is presented. Specifications of ОПП-6 tool and results of acceptance tests are given.

The article presents the results of theoretical and experimental studies to substantiate a rational distance from the point of connection of the implement with the tractor to the axis of rotation of the support wheels and the distance from the axis of symmetry of the frame in the horizontal plane to the point of connection of the hitch with the frame in the vertical plane. Theoretical studies have established that the stability of the working bodies during the process of soil sowing (soil hardness of at least 6 MPa) will be provided at a distance from the point of connection of the implement with the tractor to the axis of rotation of the support wheels equal to 4,3-5,3 m. The distance from the axis of symmetry of the frame in the horizontal plane to the point of connection of the hitch with the frame should be in the range 0-300 mm. During experimental studies, the state of the soil at a processing depth of 0-30 cm corresponded to the following average indicators: soil hardness 4,8 MPa, humidity 16,3 %, bulk density 1,39 g/cm3. The tests in the farm conditions were carried out at the travel speeds of 7,2; 8,9 and 10,0 km/h. The depth of tillage with the chisel was 28,5-29,7 cm, with the disc tillage tools 8,8-9,5 cm. At the working width of 8.8 m and travel speed of 8,9 km/h the working capacity of the aggregate per 1 hour of the basic time is 7,8 ha, draught resistance is 82,3 kN. The fuel consumption per hour was 76,2 kg, while 9,7 kg is consumed per hectare. The power consumed to overcome the draught resistance of the implement is 203,5 kW. The stability of the technological process in terms of tilling depth and draught resistance indicates the validity of the selected constructive parameters of the chisel subsoiler for autumn tillage of stubble field.

The paper presents the analysis of systems for differentiated fertilization and the results of laboratory tests of subsurface fertilizer cultivator. The technology of the differentiated fertilizer application (DFA) is one of the priority areas in precision agriculture. The purpose of the research is to select the most effective DFA system for subsurface fertilizer cultivators applied in the northern regions of Kazakhstan and to test the design and technological scheme of pneumatic transport. The optimal system of differentiated application of fertilizers was chosen according to the generalized desirability function, the main difficulty was to create a sign that quantitatively determines the functioning of the object under study. To construct a multiple optimization parameter the idea of converting the natural values of specific object parameters into an unbounded scale was used. The obtained information on systems of differentiated fertilization was processed using standard methods of comparison, analysis, and synthesis. The results of laboratory tests were processed using methods of mathematical statistics. Based on the research results, according to the generalized desirability function the system «Agronavigator-Dozator» was chosen, which consists of a navigation system «Agronavigator Plus», GLONASS/GPS antenna, actuators, connecting cables and control panel for remote activation of the "Processing" mode. According to the laboratory tests, the functionality of the pneumatic transport system for mineral fertilizer granules and the dosing device was tested. The structural and technological scheme of pneumatic transport includes a fan driven by a hydraulic motor, airflow distributor, connecting pipelines and ejector funnels. It is established that in the range of fan revolutions from 2100 to 2700 rpm stable transportation of granules is provided without blockage of pipelines and ejector funnels, airflow speed in pipelines is provided in the range from 13 to 25 m/s. The deviation of the actual fertilizer dosage from the target was 2.1-5.0 %.