Field evaluation of a bent leg tillage implement

This study was aimed to determine the effect of the geometry of a bent leg tillage implement on draft force and specific draft. This research designed as a split-split plot experiment with three replications. Treatments were three soil moisture content levels of 7-10, 10-13 and 13-16 % as main plots, three forward speeds of 5, 7.5 and 10 km h-1 as sub-plots and three lateral blade spacing of 12, 16 and 20 cm as sub-sub-plots. Results indicated that forward speed, lateral blade spacing and soil moisture content affected draft force and specific draft. Reducing soil moisture content from 13-16% to 7-10% increased draft force by 12% and reduced specific draft by 9%. Increasing forward speed from 5 to 10 km h-1 increased draft force and specific draft by 71.8% and 70.7%, respectively. The lateral blade spacing of 16 and 20 cm was recognized to be proper for tilling by the bent leg tillage implement. Other findings showed that the geometry and characteristics of the bent leg tillage have the potential to have reduced draft force at higher levels of the forward speed.