Impact of Utilizing Press Wheels on the Mechanical Performance of Tine and Disc Seeders

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the winter agricultural season (2023 – 2024) at two sites within semi-guaranteed rainfall areas in an agricultural field in Tel-kaif district, Nineveh Governorate. The soil at the first site was characterized by a clay texture, and at the second site by a sandy texture. The field was cultivated using conservation agriculture (Zero-tillage) with two types of specialized seeders for conservation agriculture (tine and disc) for wheat cultivation. The experiment was a factorial design with three factors in a split-split plot design with three replicates. The main plots were allocated to soil type, while the sub-plots were for studying the effect of seeders, and the sub-sub-plots were for press wheels and their mechanical impact on draft force (kN), noise (dB), and vibration (Hz). The best values were achieved in sandy soil with the tine seeder without press wheels, where the lowest draft force value was (6.28) kN. Meanwhile, clay soil with the disc seeder without press wheels recorded the lowest noise and vibration values, respectively, at (89.80 dB) and (2.30 Hz).