Farm Machinery Practice Test: Tillage, Disc Plough — Flashcards

Tillage, Disc Plough topics include: Tillage system, mouldboard plough, disc plough, & country plough.

Tillage is the process of mechanically manipulating soil. It involves plowing, cultivating, or turning the soil to prepare it for planting or seeding.

Tilling can:
Aerate the soil
Loosen the soil
Mix organic matter, fertilizer, and manure with the soil
Control weeds
Manage crop residue
Incorporate amendments
Prepare a seedbed
Remove surface compaction and rutting
Encourage root growth
Allow seeds to germinate 

Tillage can also regulate the balance of water, fertilizer, gas, and heat in the soil. It affects the structural stability of the soil and the absorption of nutrients by crops, and finally affects crop yield. 
While tilling has long been part of crop farming, intensive tillage can increase the likelihood of:
Soil erosion
Nutrient runoff into nearby waterways
The release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere 

Tillage can be done using primary or secondary tillage equipment:
Primary tillage equipment
Breaks and loosens soil to a depth of 15 to 90 cm (6 to 36 inches). This equipment includes moldboard plows, disk plows, rotary plows, chisel plows, and subsoil plows.
Secondary tillage equipment

Stirrs the soil at comparatively shallow depths. This equipment includes cultivators, harrows, rollers, pulverizers, and tools for mulching and fallowing. 
Factors such as soil moisture, physical characteristics, slope, and crop rotation play a vital role when deciding which implement is best for each field. 

A disc plough is a farm machine that uses hardened steel disks to plow. It is used for primary tillage, especially in hard, dry, trashy, stony, or stumpy land conditions. It can also be used in soil where scouring is a major problem

You can adjust a disc plough's cutting angle and tilt angle:
Cutting angle: The angle of the cutting edge with the line of travel. The normal angle is 42–45°.
Tilt angle: The angle of the cutting edge with the vertical line. The normal angle is 15–25°.