Drawbar energy use for tillage operations on loamy sand

ABSTRACT DRAWBAR energy use was calculated based on measurements of draft force and speed for various tillage systems. The tillage systems were (a) moldboard plowing and planting, (b) chisel plowing and planting, (c) no-till planting, and (d) ridge planting and cultivation. The work was conducted using a 85 kW 2WD tractor for primary tillage and a 49 kW 2WD tractor for planting and ridge cultivation. The soil type was a Udorthentic Haploboroll (Hubbard loamy sand). Results show that the reduced tillage system, involving chisel plowing as the primary tillage, used 62% more drawbar energy than the conventional tillage system. No-till and ridge plant systems resulted in 84 and 54% drawbar energy savings when compared to the conventional practice.