Assessing Topsoil Movement in Rotary Harrowing Process by RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) Technique

Ahmed Kayad, Riccardo Rainato, Lorenzo Picco, Luigi Sartori and Francesco Marinello
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Ahmed Kayad: Department TESAF, University of Padova, viale dell’Università, 16, I-35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
Riccardo Rainato: Department TESAF, University of Padova, viale dell’Università, 16, I-35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
Lorenzo Picco: Department TESAF, University of Padova, viale dell’Università, 16, I-35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
Luigi Sartori: Department TESAF, University of Padova, viale dell’Università, 16, I-35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
Francesco Marinello: Department TESAF, University of Padova, viale dell’Università, 16, I-35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy

Agriculture, 2019, vol. 9, issue 8, 1-9

Abstract: Harrowing is a process that reduces the size of soil clods and prepares the field for seeding. Rotary harrows are a common piece of equipment in North Italy that consists of teeth rotating around a vertical axis with a processing depth of 5–15 cm. In this study, the topsoil movement in terms of distance and direction were estimated at different rotary harrow working conditions. A total of eight tests was performed using two forward speeds of 1 and 3 km/h, two working depths of 6 and 10 cm and two levelling bar positions of 0 and 10 cm from the ground. In order to simulate and follow topsoil movement, Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tags were inserted into cork stoppers and distributed in a regular pattern over the soil. Tags were distributed in six lines along the working width and repeated in three rows for each test: a total number of 144 tags was tracked. Results showed that there were no significant differences between the performed tests, on the other hand the reported tests highlight the effectiveness of the RFID monitoring approach.

Keywords: rotary harrow; secondary tillage; soil erosion; RFID (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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