Desempenho operacional de hastes e ponteiras na descompactação de solo

Abstract

Considering the major role agribusiness plays in the Brazilian economy, it is of utmostimportance to invest in studies that add improvements to the technology of agricultural machinery and equipment. Among the most expensive agricultural operations is soildecompaction, which is performed by subsoiling or scarification. Hence, optimizing this operation will reduce costs for farmers and increase field productivity. Therefore, this study aimed to assess different shank and tip geometries of a soil decompactor, also assessing theirperformances through draft force and power. Additionally, the soil elevation area was measured, and the incorporation of organic matter was assessed. The experiment was performed in dystrophic red latosol in a 5x2x2 factorial experimental design, using five shank/tip geometries that were drawn at two travel speeds (3,0 km/h and 6,0 km/h) and two working depths (300 mm and 400 mm). The mean results indicated that shank 2 presented the lowest power requirement. However, when setting higher speed and higher depth, shank 3 performed the best. Shank 4 with winged tip presented the highest power requirement. Overall, the increase in speed and depth increased horizontal and vertical force. Although there were no statistical differences, the soil elevation area was higher in shank 4, and shank 5 with lateral inclination, presented the lowest incorporation of organic matter and the second lowest power requirement among the shanks studied.