ANALYSIS OF THE MOTION OF WEEDING TOOLS AND DEVELOPMENT OF A ROTARY POWER WEEDER

Olaoye, Joshua Olarenwaju and Adekanye, T. A. (2011) ANALYSIS OF THE MOTION OF WEEDING TOOLS AND DEVELOPMENT OF A ROTARY POWER WEEDER. Journal of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (JAET), 19 (2). pp. 9-25.

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Abstract

The motion of the weeding disc at any point on the surface of a rotary tiller travels was studied. Parametric equations were used to describe the motion of path followed by the weeding tines. The effective performance of soil working tool was related to the kinematic parameter of the soil working tools, the forward travel distance and speed of the rotary tines and working action of components of weeding tool. The design parameters for appropriate soil working tools and implements were established. The weeder consists of a 5 hp-petrol engine, three ground wheels (pneumatic), tool assembly, frame and handle. The construction of the powered rotary weeder was done in the workshop of the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. The performance of the weeder was investigated by considering the effects of four (4) weeding tools (Iron rod tine, Cable tine, Line yard tine and Plastic strand tine) and three (3) levels of weeding speeds (1804 rpm, 2435 rpm, 3506 rpm) on the weeding index, weeding efficiency and field capacity. The data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using a 43 factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design. The analysis of results indicated that the forward speeds of 0.4 m/s to 0.5 m/s and engine speeds of 1804 rpm to 2261 rpm resulted in weeding efficiency of 54.98% to 59.05% respectively. Weeding tool type had significant effect on the weeding efficiency and on field capacity. The performance of the iron rod tine was better than line yard tine, cable tine and plastic tine in terms of weed removal efficiency, field capacity and ease of operation.

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