DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF A TRACTOR DRAWN FIVE ROW FURROW OPENING DEVICE

Abstract

A tractor drawn five row furrow opening device having a capacity of 30 hectares per day was designed and fabricated as one of the tillage/planting device with which soil can be opened in order to facilitate the planting of seeds in an efficient and uniform manner that would save time and reduce drudgery. The fabricated device consists of a beam, transport wheels, bearing housing, spring bar furrow opener and the 3 -point hitch to the tractor. The 3- point hitch which is standard on most tractors is the place of connection of the furrow opener to the tractor consisting of the upper link and two lower links. The 3-point hitch is very effective in lowering and lifting farm equipment and can also be used for semi-mounted implements such as the soil opener to give it stability and support when used on the farm. The device was fabricated with locally sourced materials that are not difficult to get. This makes maintenance and repairs on the device easy by local artisans since damaged parts can be easily repaired and if possible replaced with new parts. The results obtained from the trial tests of the fabricated device showed that the tractor drawn five row furrow opening device functioned properly as expected with a working capacity of 30 hectares/day. Visual inspection of the planted seeds after germination shows a uniform plant growth on a straight line indicating that soil nutrients abound and the depth of soil opening was uniform throughout the working operation of the fabricated device.