EVALUATION A LOCALLY DESIGNED DEVICE VERSUS A CONVENTIONAL ONE FOR MEASURING FUEL CONSUMPTION AND PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AT VARIOUS SPEEDS AND PLOWING DEPTHS

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted to test a locally designed device and compare it with a conventional device for measuring fuel consumption and some performance indicators under specific plowing speeds and depths. The experiment took place in the fields of the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Baghdad, located in Jadriya, on October 21, 2024. An electronic device was designed to measure the fuel consumption of agricultural tractors and compared to a conventional device.The study examined the effects of three factors .The first factor is the,device type electronic and conventional the second factor is the forward speed (2.24 , 3.49 km.h^-1). The third factor is the Plowing depth (10–15, 20–25 cm). Measurements included fuel consumption draft power, actual productivity, and cost. The experiment was implemented using a nested design under the randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replicates. The Least Significant Difference (LSD₀.₀₅) test was applied to compare treatment means at a probability level 0.05.The results revealed a significant interaction  between the device type and plowing depth. The electronic device outperformed the conventional one at the 10–15 cm plowing depth by recording the lowest fuel consumption, 31.80 l.h^-1, the lowest drawbar power, 5.44 kW, and the highest productivity, 0.33 ha.h^-1. and The lowest costs amounted to 20,352 Di.ha^-1