Cultivators - agricultural machinery from the list of basic equipment used in agriculture.
Today, there are many varieties of this unit, both domestic and imported. A continuous cultivator, unlike a plow, loosens the soil without a turnover of the reservoir. Its main function, regardless of variety, is the cultivation of the soil.
Classification
Cultivators for tillage are classified according to various criteria. First of all, depending on how they are connected to the tractor, they are divided into trailed and mounted.
Cultivators are divided according to purpose. The first group includes a cultivator for continuous tillage (pre-sowing or steam). It is used for cultivation with the simultaneous destruction of weeds when caring for vapors or preparing the soil for sowing.
The next group is row cultivators. With their help, they cultivate row crops, destroy weeds by pruning and sprinkling with earth, and in addition, they feed crops and loosen rows.
A separate group - special cultivators: forest, garden and anti-erosion. During operation, they destroy almost 100% of weeds. When loosening the soil, such machines prevent the removal of wet layers to the surface.
Mention should also be made of universal cultivators that carry out two or more cultivating operations.
Depending on the number of rows cultivated, the cultivator for continuous tillage refers to either single-row or multi-row. In addition, the units differ in the type of working bodies and are accordingly called: ploughshare (paw), milling, rotary, disk.
The device of cultivators
The general constructive scheme of cultivators consists of the following assembly units: frame, working bodies (discs, milling knives, paws, etc.) and their fastening system (plates, paw holders, ridges, etc.), running or supporting wheels in depending on the type (disc mounted cultivator for continuous tillage does not have support wheels).
The scheme also includes devices and mechanisms: for transferring the machine from the transport position to the working one and vice versa, for adjusting the immersion depth of the working bodies and installation on a given row spacing, as well as the steering device.
Cultivator application
The cultivator for continuous tillage is used, as a rule, before sowing crops for cultivating the soil and at the same time leveling the microrelief, for
weed control after the early harvest. The unit carries out loosening and mulching of the soil, as well as its adjustable compaction.
The technological process proceeds as follows: during a working move across the field, the cultivator lancet paws loosen the surface layer to a predetermined depth, weeds are cut, and a special device located at the back evens out the furrows.
The cultivator cultivates the land for sowing row crops, spring, vegetable crops, and also does the processing of vapors in order to preserve moisture in the soil. Leveling the surface of the fields with a cultivator reduces the number of passes of other agricultural machines and ensures high productivity of subsequent operations.