Energy Requirements and Tillage Performance Under Different Active Tillage Treatments in Sandy Loam Soil

Purpose: To assess the operational energy requirement (OER) and tillage performance index (TPI) of four different active tillage treatments and identification of the best efficient tillage practice among them to achieve an alternative to the conventional practice T1 (1 × Cultivator + 2 × Offset disc harrow), which involves only purely passive type of tillage tools. Methods: The active tillage treatments considered were as follows: T2 (1 × Combined offset disc harrow), T3 (1 × Cultivator + 1 × Single rotor type rotavator), T4 (1 × Double rotor type rotavator), and T5 (1 × Power harrow). Each implement in the respective treatment was operated at their best suitable forward speed and rotor rpm. Results: Compared to the conventional practice T1, the amount of fuel saved per hectare in tillage practices, T2, T4, and T5, was 49.8%, 17.9%, and 20.3%, respectively. However, tillage treatment T3 was found to consume 6.9% more fuel. Compared to T1, the amount of time saved by T2, T3, T4, and T5 tillage practices was found to be 61.1%, 9.54%, 40.6%, and 44.6%, respectively. The maximum OER of 1445.32 MJ ha−1 was observed in T3 followed by 1360.40, 1105.86, 1085.86, and 681.36 MJ ha−1 in T1, T4, T5, and T2, respectively. Further, compared to T1, the TPI for tillage treatments, T2 and T4, was found to be higher by 74.07% and 133.33%, respectively. However, the TPI for tillage treatment T3 was found to be lower by 88.88%. Conclusions: Active tillage implements helped in time and fuel-saving in seedbed preparation. The maximum percentage of operational energy was consumed in the form of fuel energy. The front active and rear passive configuration of combined offset disc harrow was found to be the most effective among all the tested active tillage implements in terms of both operational energy and tillage performance criteria. © 2021, The Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery.