PERFORMANCE OF THE SAKALAK SK-FM SEED DRILL IN SILTY CLAY LOAM SOILS

Abstract

The experiment was conducted in agricultural fields of the Agricultural Research Department in Abu-Ghraib region during November 2022 to study three levels of depths: 2, 4, and 6 cm, and three speed 5, 6.5, and 7.5 km h^-1 on the performance of the fertilized seed drill, SAKALAK SK-FM, with the Renault tractor as a mechanical unit in the silty clay loam soil. The following characteristics were studied: the percentage of slippage, actual field productivity, fuel consumption, and number of plants per square meter. The experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design, with split plot arrangement with three replications. The depth allocated to the main plots, and the forward speed allocated to the sub-plots. The results indicated that highest slip ratio7.06% and pulling force 12 KN at the interaction between depth 6 cm and forward speed 7.5 km/h , the lowest slip ratio 3.55 and pulling force 8 KN at the interaction between depth 2 cm and forward speed 5 km/h. The lowest fuel consumption 6.39 and the number of plants per square meter 4.33 at the interaction between depth 2 cm and forward speed 7.5 km/h, The highest fuel consumption 10 and the number of plants per square meter 5.67at the interaction between depth 2 cm and forward speed 5 km/h.