The effect of cultivator/ridger type on the physical properties of ridge, power requirement and potato yield

摘要

In 2002, 2003 and 2004, field trials were carried out in Slovenia in the form of random blocks with five replications. Three potato cultivators/ridgers were used on medium textured soil. The aim was to establish which potato cultivator/ridger was the most suitable for inter-row space cultivation, ridge shaping and achievement of the highest possible potato yield, work-rate and productivity. A drawn cultivator/ridger with spring tines on a parallelogram framework and wing ridge heads attached (STC), was com¬pared with a drawn cultivator/ridger with rigid tines on a parallelogram framework and cogwheel ridge discs attached (RTC) and with a rotary, PTO-driven cultivator/ridger (RC). The latter created the largest cross-sectional area of the ridge and proved to be the most efficient at crushing soil aggregates in the inter-row space and at ridge shap¬ing. It also allowed the lowest cone resistance at the ridge centre and in the central part of the ridge side. A higher number of tubers per plant resulted from ridges made by the PTO-driven cultivator/ridger giving a higher total yield of tubers than with the other two cultivators/ridgers. In comparison with the drawn cultivators/ridgers, the PTO-driven cultivator/ridger shaped ridges with better physical properties on medium textured soil; however both drawn cultivators/ridgers had greater work-rates, and also needed less energy to cultivate a unit of area.