1 / 37

Soil Compaction in Alfalfa Fields

Soil Compaction in Alfalfa Fields. Ronald T. Schuler, Professor Extension Agricultural Engineer Biological Systems Engineering University of Wisconsin-Madison. Soil Compaction. Causes include combinations of: Wheel Traffic Tillage Precipitation Types Surface Subsoil.

raina
Download Presentation

Soil Compaction in Alfalfa Fields

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Soil Compaction in Alfalfa Fields Ronald T. Schuler, Professor Extension Agricultural Engineer Biological Systems Engineering University of Wisconsin-Madison

  2. Soil Compaction • Causes include combinations of: • Wheel Traffic • Tillage • Precipitation • Types • Surface • Subsoil

  3. Loam soil by volume Non-compacted Compacted

  4. Compaction Issues • Tires • Size • Inflation pressure • Tire design, radial vs. bias • Machinery • Avoid wet soil • Wheel alignment • Machine selection • Machine weight

  5. Compaction Issues • Tires • Size • Inflation pressure • Tire design, radial vs. bias • Machinery • Avoid wet soil • Wheel alignment • Machine selection • Machine weight

  6. Contact Area-Size-Diameter(Firestone) Tire Size Tire Dia. Area(in2) Radial TiresFlat 3”Sinkage 18.4R34 65.1 320 720 18.4R38 69.0 340 740 18.4R42 73.0 350 760 18.4R46 77.0 365 780 Bias Tires 18.4-34 65.4 284 653 18.4-38 69.3 300 675

  7. Contact Area-Size-Width(Firestone) Tire Size Tire WidthArea(in2) Radial TiresFlat 3”Sinkage 16.9R38 16.9 255 660 18.4R38 18.4 340 740 20.8R38 20.8 390 870 Bias Tires 16.9-38 16.9 252 629 18.4-38 18.4 300 675

  8. Compaction Issues • Tires • Size • Inflation pressure • Tire design, radial vs. bias • Machinery • Avoid wet soil • Wheel alignment • Machine selection • Machine weight

  9. Impact of Tire Pressure 6 psi 18 psi

  10. Inflation pressure-slight tire bulge with the proper pressure on radial ply tires 6 psi 18 psi Bulge

  11. Top View: Measured soil-tire interface stress (psi) distribution of an 18.4R38 tire

  12. Compaction Issues • Tires • Size • Inflation pressure • Tire design, radial vs. bias ply • Machinery • Avoid wet soil • Wheel alignment • Machine selection • Machine weight

  13. Radial vs. Bias Ply Tires Contact Area

  14. At Proper Inflation Pressure, Radials have greater Contact Area

  15. Tractor Manufacturer RecommendationsTire Size – 18.4-34 Pressures-psi Axle Load (lbs) Radial Bias 5500 6 16 6000 7 16 6500 7 16 7000 8 16 7500 9 16 8000 10 16 8500 12 16 9000 13 16 9500 14 16 10000 15 16

  16. Compaction Issues • Tires • Size • Inflation pressure • Tire design, radial vs. bias • Machinery • Avoid wet soil • Wheel alignment • Machine selection • Machine weight

  17. Impact of soil moisture on compaction(depth and sinkage) 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 Hard dry soil Normal Wet soil Depth, In.

  18. Compaction Issues • Tires • Size • Inflation pressure • Tire design, radial vs. bias • Machinery • Avoid wet soil • Wheel alignment • Machine selection • Machine weight

  19. Wheel alignment-harvester and wagon Wheels should follow in same track

  20. Wheel alignment- tractor and wagon

  21. Small Square Baler-Bottom FeedWheels aligned-tractor, baler and wagon

  22. Mid-Size Rectangular BalerWheels aligned-tractor and baler

  23. Compaction Issues • Tires • Size • Inflation pressure • Tire design, radial vs. bias • Machinery • Avoid wet soil • Wheel alignment • Machine selection • Machine weight

  24. Sickle Cutterbar-Roll Conditioner14-foot width

  25. Self-propelled mower-conditioner

  26. Front self unloading wagon

  27. Wheel Alignment –harvester and wagon

  28. Dual rake merging two windrows

  29. Merger - Picks up one windrow and places it on the adjacent one

  30. Merging three windrows into one

  31. 1 Mower-conditioner-pull or self-propelled2 Mower conditioner width, feet3 Rake-to rake, merge or do not rake two windrows together4 Area covered by wheel traffic if uniformly distributed5 T-M/A – ton miles per acre System Comparisons-three cuttings per year Type1 Width2 (ft) Rake3 Area4 T-M/A5 Pull 13 None 4.0 50 Pull 16 None 3.4 44 Pull 13 Rake 3.2 35 Pull 16 Rake 2.7 33 Self-Prop 16 Rake 3.1 32 Self-Prop 16 Merge 3.0 32 Pull 13 Merge 3.4 37 Self-Prop 13 Merge(Dbl) 2.8 27 Self-Prop 16 Merge(Dbl) 2.3 32

  32. Compaction Issues • Tires • Size • Inflation pressure • Tire design, radial vs. bias • Machinery • Avoid wet soil • Wheel alignment • Machine selection • Machine weight

  33. Tractor ballasting criteria Towed Load wt. vs. Max.Speed Towing machine wt. mph 1 to 1 20 2 to 1 10 More than 2 to 1 Do not tow

  34. Concluding Remarks • Select appropriate tire • Use proper tire pressure • Align wheels • Reduce traffic of large equipment • Use safe towing machine weight

  35. The End

More Related