Weed extractor: the efficiency of melons and gourds cultivation

Abstract

The cultivation of melons and gourds is a rather laborious process and the main costs fall on the treatment of crops from weeds and harvesting. Before the weed damage threshold is reached, three or four row spacing treatments with cultivators are required, which ensures soil compaction. The number of treatments can be reduced by loosening the row spacing 0.1 to 0.12 m with a device capable of affecting the root system of weeds. It is established that weeding out is affected by the gear ratio between the weed extractor rotors. In order to determine the optimal value of the gear ratio on the technological process, the author conducted laboratory and field studies. The distance, on which the root diggers interact with the soil, was determined in the soil channel when varying the gear ratio from 1.0 to 4.0 and the depth of cultivation of 0.05 and 0.1 m. In field conditions, the author measured the length of weed roots removed from the soil at a working depth of 0.05 and 0.1 m, at the gear ratio of 1.0 to 4.5, and with a pitch of 0.5. As a result of research, the author observed the optimum length of traces of the front sections of the digger equaling 0.35 m and that of rear ones equaling 0.08 m at a gear ratio of 4.0. The greatest length of weed roots extracted to the surface with the digger blade of 0.26 to 0.32 m was observed at a gear ratio of 4.0 and a depth of 0.1 m. It is concluded that the efficiency of tillage depends on the gear ratio between front and rear rotors and the depth of tillage. The highest weeding-out efficiency was observed at a gear ratio between the weed extractor rotors of 4.0.