The requirement for Indian farming system demands the development of a power tiller as a versatile power source for various farming operations which primarily depend on the drawbar output of the power tiller. For evaluating the drawbar performance of a power tiller under varying operating conditions, the prime requirement is the controlled and precise loading of the power tiller through drawbar. A loading car consisting of power transmission system and hydraulic loading system was developed to apply drawbar load precisely at any desired level. It is capable of applying a drawbar load accurately from 40 to 200 kg at an increment of 5 kg. The forward speed and slip was measured by means of a revolution counter fixed to the wheel axle of the power tiller. The fuel consumption was measured by using a fuel measuring device. The drawbar pull developed by the power tiller was monitored from the hydraulic dynamometer mounted between the power tiller and the loading car. The drawbar horse power and the drawbar specific fuel consumption were computed. The drawbar horse power of 7.46 kW power tiller was found to be very low which varied from 0.30 to 0.65 kW and 0.20 to 0.50 kW in untilled and tilled soil conditions, respectively. The minimum point of drawbar specific fuel consumption (1.1 kg/kW hr) coincided with the maximum drawbar power (0.65 kW).
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