Draft and Fuel Requirements in Tillage Operations: Modelling for Optimizing Tractor-Implement Systems

A three years research project was developed to study tractor-implement dynamics in tillage operations. This paper reports the results of field tests performed under real working conditions, using more than twenty tractors (four-wheel-drive) and trailed disc harrows combinations, in different soils conditions. The data show the existence of a linear relationship between the drawbar pull per unit of implement width, and the fuel consumption per hectare. The results put in evidence the benefits of the “gear up, throttle down” approach.