A research on the performance of a single disc type furrow opener used in no-till seeders with various angles on different residue conditions

In this study, it is aimed to determine the effects of a single disk type furrow opener which is widely used in cereal no-till seeders with different disk angles, vertical weights and residue conditions on the acting forces, residue distribution, furrow properties and some soil physical properties. In the study, which was conducted in the soil bin conditions, five tilt angles (0, 2,5, 5, 7,5 and 10°), five disc angles (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20°), three vertical disk loads 50 kg (491 N), 100 kg (981 N) and 150 kg (1472 N) and wheat, corn residue conditions along with no-residue soil conditions was considered as factors. The experiment was designed as a randomized complete block with three replications. According to the obtained results, increase of the disc angle increased the vertical and horizontal forces acting on the disc. Minimum force was determined at the 0° and maximum force at the 20° disc angles. According to the disc angle, the vertical forces acting on the disc varied between 321,5 N and 373,4 N and the horizontal forces between 92,2 N and 131,3 N. As the tilt angle increased, the horizontal forces decreased from 122,7 N to 103,7 N, while the vertical forces varied from 335,1 N to 360,6 N. It has been found that 7,5 and 10° tilt angles generally give better results. At 0° disc angle better results were obtained for the forces acting on disc type furrow opener, furrow profile, residue distribution distance and the amount of dragging and cutting residue. In addition, compared to the other angles, a higher residue covering ratio of 63% was achieved at 0° disc angle. On the contrary, while the amount of residue buried and residue burial depth was higher in the 0° disc angle, the amount of loosened soil to cover seed was not sufficient. Increasing of the vertical load applied on the disk increased the forces acting on the disc, furrow width, cross-section area of furrow, soil disturbance area, residue distribution distance, dragged and buried residue and depth of residue burial. It was concluded that in accordance with the existing conditions, 50 kg vertical load was sufficient for a single disc furrow opener. In the study, residue covering rate was found to be 46% for corn and 70% for wheat residue. In addition, the cutting performance of the single disc opener was found better for wheat residue than corn stalks.