Changes in Soil Cone Resistance Due to Cotton Picker Traffic - Case Study Example

John Deere 7760 Cotton Picker Student’s Name: Institution: Course Title: Course Code: Date of Submission: Table of Contents 1. Introduction Technology advancement all over the world caused a revolution in agriculture sector which comprises use of machinery (Jorgenson. et al. 2005). Use of machinery was because of the outcry of farmers who wanted to reduce the cost of labour, improve productivity and overall quality of the product. Hardpans increased to affect the farmers impacting directly on small production. For instance, cotton of low quality was the result (Dyer, J. & Desjardins, L. 2006). To till land ploughs was the only option but involved a lot of work and sometimes the land was not cultivated properly. Cotton farmers burst called for a machine specifically for that purpose. Farmers wanted something that is going to harvest and prepare the soil to increase production. Feedback given by consumers across Australia about the particular machine enabled the producer to manufacture 7760 John Deere cotton picker (Braunack, & Johnston, 2014). All the chains involved in the production of the engine was enhanced, and some improvement was made, they included transportation, harvesting, ginning cotton seed and handling. The primary target was to reduce labour, promote flexibility, preserve quality if fibre and reduce assets. The first solution targeted by all stakeholders’ concerned improving productivity, profit and efficiency. John Deere fitted the needs of customers because it comprised of all process involved in cotton starting from harvesting up to completion the lint bale ready for transportation. John Deere runs all operations at the same time due to an accumulator that enables it to perform those operations. 2. Benefits i) Ginning advantage It is reported that cotton picker aid at developing a position to ginners during the busy season by reducing the strain that they usually incur during the harvest season. The consistency in wrapping as an aim of protecting and sheltering the cotton from moisture helps ginners to gain an advantage which is translated as profits since the practice reduces loss that may result from moisture that might affect the product. ii) Offers power for picking during a rise in conditions that raise the demand A faster cotton picker helps to enhance the production rate of up to four bales for every acre whereas a traditional takes about over 20 % of its time to upload while waiting for buggies. Cotton pickers enable the farmer to enhance a continuous harvesting system while providing more time for picking cotton in the field. It just reduces sticking in mad while farming. iii) Conservation of fibre quality Cotton pickers offer a weather protection while protecting producers from sacrificing the quality of their produce. Cotton picker ensures the protection of farmer’s seeds and grain while providing that there is no loss in cotton. iv) Simple and productive harvest Non-stop harvesting employed by 7760 cotton picker makes producers have an overall productive and straightforward season. Unlike the traditional methods of picking cotton such as the use of basket use of the machine is more efficient and more productive. In other words, the design of 7760 cotton picker makes harvesting easy and less stressful. Farmers can produce quality cotton because fibre is preserved. 3. Effects on soil and cotton yield Soil compaction refers to the formation of dense layers due to layers packed closely mostly at the bottom of cultivated area (Hamza, & Anderson, 2005). Causes of compaction are overuse of machinery, short crop rotation, inappropriate soil management, intensive cropping among others. The effect discussed occurs depending on the ground structure, texture and water content during the growing period. Overuse of machinery results to compact soil due to the weight leading to the formation of layers deeper in the surface of the earth. Soil compaction is a common effect and results negatively to yield of the crop by preventing penetration of roots. Soils forms bulks with high density developing resistance as the ground particles are disrupted. Also, soil aeration suffers a massive blow as water and air cannot easily penetrate the soil. Holding of the water on the surface of earth triggers water run off increasing the chances of erosion. Nutrient uptake of the plant is also affected by the plant may develop stunted growth due to the limited root size (Rosolem, et al. 2002). Use of machine conserves the soil tillage which is a very beneficial condition in the production of cotton. The practice also mitigates compaction of soil by the following ways: using of deeper ploughing chisel, subsoiling, crop rotation and also controlling of traffic (Chatskikh, & Olesen 2007). The following methods are applied to mitigate compaction: one of them is the use of strip tillage together with the use of deep ploughing technique. The methods loosen the soil and enable air aeration increasing cotton yield. Controlled traffic is also another measure that increases the production of cotton (Raper, L. 2005). Research conducted showed that dealing with the formation of hardpan increase exponentially production of cotton (Braunack, & Johnston, 2014). Roots penetrate deep to exhaust all the nutrients in the soil making the plant strong and healthy. For instance, deep tillage results in an increase in the height of the cotton mill. Therefore incorporating the use of controlled traffic and deep tillage a farmer can maximise cotton yield. Use of machinery incorporates nitrogen in the soil which is a vital nutrient required by the cotton plant. Nitrogen from air mixes with the ground which is taken by plant roots. Nitrogen is applied in various forms such as the use of nitrogenous fertilisers to increase the efficiency of the plant. In 1990 there was a very limited supply of nitrogen resulting in very low yield on cotton. The more the nitrogen uptake higher the increase of cotton production. The modern method of farming created a lot of difference since the seed well takes care of and soil loosened to enable easy development of roots. Research that was conducted to show the effect of soil compaction on cotton production was done, and in samples, there were no fertilisers that were used. The growth stage targeted was 75-79 according to the numeric code of BBCH (Sridharan, A & Sivapullaiah 2005). The increase of the plant in the last stage was also taken to establish the process that has been made. Also, plant density and biomass sample were taken using vegetation of plant at 0.25m2 (n-4). The penetration resistance was also measured at different angles using a rod of 12mm. From the research soil, bulk and penetration differed, but both are dependent on soil moisture content. Results of soil traffic found to be significant in different seasons of the year (Rosolem, et al. 2002). Change in biomass of the plant was found to be similar to that of compaction of non-fertilizers. A big different found to exist between untreated and treated compaction where one managed leads to high production of cotton. Tyre pressure of the machinery used recommended to be between 120-150kpa.presuure from 150kpa and above increase the penetration resistance of soil, bulk density and formation of hard pans. Freezing of the ground to occur at a depth of 0.5m. So, the perfect way to treat soil is by dealing with compaction first. 4. References Braunack, M. V., & Johnston, D. B. (2014). Changes in soil cone resistance due to cotton picker traffic during harvest on Australian cotton soils. Soil and Tillage Research, 140, 29-39. Chatskikh, D., & Olesen, J. E. (2007). Soil tillage enhanced CO 2 and N 2 O emissions from loamy sand soil under spring barley. Soil and tillage Research, 97(1), 5-18. Dyer, J. A., & Desjardins, R. L. (2006). Carbon dioxide emissions associated with the manufacturing of tractors and farm machinery in Canada. Biosystems Engineering, 93(1), 107-118. Hamza, M. A., & Anderson, W. K. (2005). Soil compaction in cropping systems: a review of the nature, causes and possible solutions. Soil and tillage research, 82(2), 121-145. Jorgenson, D. W., Ho, M. S., & Stiroh, K. J. (2005). Productivity, Volume 3: information technology and the American growth Resurgence. MIT Press Books, 3. Raper, R. L. (2005). Agricultural traffic impacts on soil. Journal of Terramechanics, 42(3), 259-280. Rosolem, C. A., Foloni, J. S. S., & Tiritan, C. S. (2002). Root growth and nutrient accumulation in cover crops as affected by soil compaction. Soil and Tillage Research, 65(1), 109-115. Sridharan, A., & Sivapullaiah, P. V. (2005). Mini compaction test apparatus for fine grained soils. Read More