TILLAGE OPERATIONS AND EQUIPMENT

TILLAGE
- Any physical soil manipulations which changes structure of soil, kills weeds, and
rearranges dead plant materials

TILLAGE EQUIPMENT: Objectives

1. To develop desirable soil structure for a seed bed
a) Higher water infiltration rate
b) Decreased water surface run off
c) Greater water holding capacity of the soil
d) Better aeration
2. To control weeds
3. To incorporate manure and chemical fertilizer

TILLAGE EQUIPMENT: Classification

A. By operation
1. Primary tillage – initial cutting and breaking of the soil
2. Secondary tillage – subsequent breaking and pulverization of the soil &
levelling
B. By equipment
1. Primary tillage equipment – tools, implements and equipment used for initial
breaking of the soil
Tools – hoes
Implements & equipment – plows, chisels, subsoils
2. Secondary tillage equipment – used for breaking and pulverizing soil clods
and levelling the land
Tools – rake
Implement & equipment – disc, spine, harrow
3. General purpose tillage equipment - Used for the combined actions of
primary and secondary tillage equipment in one passing

C. By power source
1. Human - human power using hand tools
2. Animal - a carabao providing power in pulling implements such as plows &
harrows
 3. Mechanical - with the use of equipment powered by mechanical means

D. D. By cropping system
1. Upland tillage - Tillage is performed while the soil is relatively dry (20 – 23%
MC dry basis)
2. Lowland tillage - Tillage is performed while the soil is saturated with water

Terms in Plowing
• Land – unplowed soil
• Furrow slice – ribbon of soil cut, lifted, inverted and thrown to one side
• Furrow – trench left when the plow cuts and turn the furrow slice
• Back furrow – raised ridge formed when a furrow slice is lapped over another slice
• Dead furrow – open trench about twice the width of one bottom, formed when two
adjacent furrow slices are thrown
• Furrow wall – unbroken side of the furrow

• Pull – total force exerted upon the implement

• Draft – horizontal component of pull parallel to the line of motion of the body
• Side draft – horizontal component of pull perpendicular to the line of motion of the
body
• Scouring – soil sliding freely over the surface of the plow bottom

Types of Primary Tillage Equipment

1. Moldboard Plow – consists of a warped surface with a cutting edge which crumbles
and inverts the soil. Depth of cut ranges from 6 – 24 in.
2. Disc plow – plow to reduce the friction in the sliding moldboard bottom by using a
rolling disc bottom. Depth of cut ranges from 6 – 18 in.
Moldboard Plow Parts
 Landside - part that presses and slides against the furrow wall, providing lateral
stability during operation
 Landside heel - part, attached to the rear of a landside, which applies the vertical
load of the plow bottom to the furrow bottom
 Moldboard - part of the plow which lifts, inverts and throws the furrow slice to
one side
 Plow bottom or plow body - working part of the plow which includes the share,
moldboard, and landside, all attached to the frog
 Share - part of the plow that penetrates the soil and cuts the furrow slice
horizontally leading edge of the moldboard located above the landside

Types of Moldboard
a. General-purpose moldboard
- plow bottom that has less curvature than the stubble and can be used easily for
stubble, ordinary trash and stalk cover land
 b. Stubble moldboard
- plow bottom that has short, broader and curved more abruptly along the top
edge and can work in soil that is cultivated yearly
c. Sod moldboard
- plow bottom that has long, narrow and less sloping moldboard with a gradual
twist that allows complete inversion of the furrow slice with minimum breakage
d. Slatted moldboard
- plow bottom which is used in sticky soils and soils that does not scour on solid
moldboard

Types of Primary Tillage Equipment

3. Chisel Plow – equipment with a curved spring steel shank and a relatively narrow
chisel point. It is used to loosen hard dry soil before the regular plow is used. Its
depth ranges from 10 – 18 in.
4. Subsoiler – ripper used for breaking deep hard/compacted soil to improve their
internal drainage. Its depth ranges from 20 to 36 in.

Types of Secondary Tillage Equipment

1. Disc harrow – consists of two or more sets of disc gangs.
• Disc gang – an assembly of disc all rotating together in a common shaft.
2. Spike-tooth harrow – finishing tool consisting of long spikes welded to cross bars
 Disc Harrow

Spike Tooth

3. Spring – tooth harrow - Consists of long, flat and curved teeth made from oil
tempered bars of spring steel

4. Comb – harrow - consists of a row of steel spikes which work the soil like a rake

Moldboard
 Moldboard Plow : Depth of Cut

Animal drawn Moldboard Plow

Moldboard plow for two-wheel tractor

 Tractor mounted moldboard plow

Plowing Methods
1. One – way plowing
2. Gathering
3. Casting

Plowing Calculation
Area plowed per hour, ha/hr
Total draft, Dt

Power requirement, hp