Assessment of a Chain Mower Performance for Weed Control under Tree Rows in an Alley Cropping Farming System

Abstract

In the area under tree rows of alley cropping systems, coarse plant material as well as pruning material or stones may be present, so the use of a mower equipped with chains as cutting a tool could be advantageous. A mower designed for under-row weed control in orchards, equipped with an automatic tree-skipping mechanism, was modified by replacing blades with chains with the aim of evaluating its performance in an alley cropping system. A first trial was carried out in an open field to preliminarily compare the chain mower with the version equipped with blades in relation to different settings of working speed (1.6 and 2.4 km·h−1) and rotation speed of the cutting tool (1830 and 2500 rpm). Weed biomass reduction, weed cover reduction, weed height reduction, weed biomass regrowth, and clipping size were assessed. In a second trial, the performance of the mowers with different setting configurations was assessed in an alley cropping system under a more critical environmental condition for mowing, i.e., the presence of dew. Weed biomass reduction, weed cover reduction, weed height reduction, and the mowers’ field capacity with different working speed settings were assessed. No major differences emerged between the mowers and the chain mower performance was comparable to that of the standard blade mower. The setting with the high working speed and high rotation speed of the cutting tool turns out to be the best compromise, obtaining a weed biomass reduction of 59.6%, a weed cover reduction of 40.9%, and a higher field capacity compared to the setting with the low working speed, with an increase of 47.9%.

Comparative Analysis of the Performance of a Chain Mower and Tools That Perform Under-Row Weed Control with Tillage in the Vineyard

“…Therefore, the utilization of a chain mower could be a preferable alternative for under-row weed management of stony vineyards. In this study, the performance of a modified mower with chains previously successfully tested for under-row weed control in an agroforestry farming system [29] was evaluated in a vineyard. Therefore, this research aims to compare the chain mower with other tools that control weeds under-row through tillage.…”

“…The chains mow the weeds by rubbing lightly on the soil surface. The characteristics of the commercial version of the mower (Dondi, Bastia Umbra, Italy) and the modifications made are reported in [29]. The cutting width of the mowing implement equipped with chains was 0.32 m. The machine is equipped with a vine-skipping mechanism; thus, the mowing implement enters the row and exits when the feeler perceives vine trunks.…”

“…This may be due to the distance between the cutting elements and the horizontal disc case necessary to avoid damage to trunks [8]. In this case, the chain mower horizontal disc case was 0.40 m wide, and the cutting width was 0.32 m [29]. The blade weeder achieved a higher weed height reduction (50.6%) compared to the chain mower (35.9%), the motorized discs (33.6%), and the rotary star hoe (24.1%), which yielded similar results to each other.…”

A review of agroforestry as a sustainable and resilient agriculture

“…Alley cropping is a sustainable agricultural practice that entails cultivating row crops within the spaces between rows of trees (Gagliardi et al, 2022). Trees have the potential to be cultivated for the purpose of producing lumber or fruits and nuts.…”