https://doi.org/10.4081/jae.2021.1083
Effects of degree of oil palm frond mulching using tractor mounted mulcher blades
Published: 18 March 2021
Abstract Views: 1091
PDF: 465
Appendix: 98
HTML: 489
Appendix: 98
HTML: 489
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
This study investigates the influence of blade lifting angles, tractor forward speed, and tractor power take off (PTO) speed on the degree of mulching. Four blades with different lifting angles, two tractor PTO speeds, and three tractor forward speeds were assessed using the parametric test at the Universiti Putra Malaysia oil palm plantation. The result shows that the best-fit regression equation was a quadratic regression with a high coefficient of determination. It indicates that any change in this three-factor interaction has a significant effect using Tukey’s Studentized mean comparison and can predict the degree of mulching. Seventy-four percent of the degree of mulching variance is explained by blade lifting angles, tractor forward speed, and tractor PTO speed. Since the blade lifting angle was a major predictor of the degree of mulching, this result implies that any change in the blade lifting angle can provide a significant prediction of the degree of mulching in an oil palm plantation. Additionally, the predicted model can further be used to predict the degree of mulching during field operations, replanting, and access for mulching of oil palm fronds. A detailed field evaluation of the performance of a tractor-mounted mulcher with different blade lifting angles in other parts of Malaysia is highly recommended to cater for the differences in soil moisture content and bulk density.
Aji I., Sapuan S., Zainudin E., Abdan K. 2009. Kenaf fibres as reinforcement for polymeric composites: a review. Intl. J. Mech. Mat. Engr. 4:239-48.
Andrejs V. 2006. Possibilities to reduce energy intensity of mulching in dependence on quality of work. Diploma thesis, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, 57 pp.
Arvidsson J., Keller T., Gustafsson K. 2004. Specific draught for mouldboard plough, chisel plough and disc harrow at different water contents. Soil Til. Res. 79:221-31.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2004.07.010
Awalludin M.F., Sulaiman O., Hashim R., Nadhari W.N.A.W. 2015. An overview of the oil palm industry in Malaysia and its waste utilization through thermochemical conversion, specifically via liquefaction. Ren. And Sust. Engr. Res. 50:1469-84.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.05.085
Bakar A.A., Hassan A., Mohd Yusof A.F. 2006. The effect of oil extraction of the oil palm empty fruit bunch on the processability, impact, and flexural properties of PVC-U composites. Intl. J. Palm. Mat. 55:627-41.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00914030500306446
Bismarck A., Mishra S., Lampke T. 2005. Plant fibers as reinforcement for green composites. ECCM15 - 15th European Conference on Composite Materials, Venice, Italy, 24-28 June 2012, 1-9.
Celik A., Altikat S. 2008. Geometrical analysis of the effects of rotary tiller blade path on the distribution of soil slice size. App. Engr. in Agric. 24:409-13.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.25138
Chalker-Scott L. 2007. Impact of mulches on landscape plants and the environment - A review. J. Environ. Hortic. 25:239.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24266/0738-2898-25.4.239
Dungani R., Pingkan A., Sri A., Karnita Y., Tati K., Ichsan S., Ihak S. 2018. Biomaterial from oil palm waste: properties, characterization and applications. Intech Open. 76412.
Farooq M., Flower K., Jabran K., Wahid A., Siddique K.H. 2011. Crop yield and weed management in rainfed conservation agriculture. Soil Til. Res. 117:172-83.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2011.10.001
Godwin R. 2007. A review of the effect of implement geometry on soil failure and implement forces. Soil Til. Res. 97:331-40.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2006.06.010
Henson I.E., Betitis T., Tomda Y., Chase L.D. 2012. The estimation of frond base biomass (FBB) of oil palm. J. Oil. Palm. Res. 24:1473-9.
Intara Y.I., Mayulu H., Radite P. 2013. Physical and mechanical properties of palm oil frond and stem bunch for developing pruner and harvester machinery design. Intl. J. Sci. Engr. 4:69-74.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12777/ijse.4.2.69-74
Jahun B.G. 2018. Development and field evaluation of blades with different lifting angles for mulching oil palm fronds prior to seedling planting. Unpublished Phd Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Kader M.A., Senge M., Mojid M.A., Ito K. 2017. Recent advances in mulching materials and methods for modifying soil environment. Soil Til. Res. 2017;168:155-66.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2017.01.001
Kumhála F., KroulÃk M., ProÅ¡ek V. 2007. Development and evaluation of forage yield measure sensors in a mowing-conditioning machine. Comp. Electr. Agric. 58:154-63.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2007.03.013
Liau S., Ahmad A. 1991. The control of Oryctes rhinoceros by clean clearing and its effect on early yield in palm to palm replants. Paper presented at the Proc. 1991 PIPOC Intl. Palm Oil Conf. MPOB, Bangi, Malaysia.
Mandal S.K., Bhattacharya B., Mukherjee S. 2013. Optimization of design parameters for rotary tiller’s blade. pp 533-539 in Proc. 1st International and 16th National Conference on Machines and Mechanisms (iNaCoMM2013), Dec 18-20 2013, IIT Roorkee, India.
Manuwa S.I. 2010. Soil bin investigation of the effect of width of tine and rake angle on draught and soil disturbance of sandy clay loam soil. J. Agric. Engr. Tech. JAET. 18:61-9.
Mayer V., Vlášková M. 2007. Mulching on soils put to rest. Agritech Sci. 1:1-5.
Nasrin A., Ma A., Choo Y., Mohamad S., Rohaya M., Azali A., Zainal Z. 2008. Oil palm biomass as potential substitution raw materials for commercial biomass briquettes production. Am. J. App. Sci. 5:179-83.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3844/ajassp.2008.179.183
Olatunji O., Davies R. 2009. Effect of weight and draught on the performance of disc plough on sandy-loam soil. Res. J. App. Sci. Engr. Tech. 1:22-6.
Osborne S.L., Johnson J.M., Jin V.L., Hammerbeck A.L., Varvel G.E., Schumacher T.E. 2014. The impact of corn residue removal on soil aggregates and particulate organic matter. BioEnergy Res. 7:559-67.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-014-9413-0
Oworlarafe O.K., Olabige M.T. Faborade M.O. 2007. Physical and mechanical properties of two varieties of fresh oil palm fruit. J. Food Engr. 78:1228-32.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2005.12.049
Pandey M. 2004. Present status and future requirements of farm equipment for crop production. Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal, 24:69-113.
Pinamonti F. 1998. Compost mulch effects on soil fertility, nutritional status and performance of grapevine. Nutr. Cycl. Agro. 51:239-48.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009701323580
Ping L.Y., Sung C.T.B., Joo G.K., Moradi A. 2012. Effects of four soil conservation methods on soil aggregate stability. Mal. J. Soil Sci. 16:43-56.
Shen J., Kushwaha R.L. 1998. Soil-machine interactions: a finite element perspective. Marcel Dekker Inc., New York, USA 1998 pp.ix + 333 pp. ref.7 pp.
Sreekala M., Kumaran M., Joseph S., Jacob M., Thomas S. 2000. Oil palm fibre reinforced phenol formaldehyde composites: influence of fibre surface modifications on the mechanical performance. App. Comp. Mat. 7:295-329.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026534006291
Srivaro S., Rattarana J., Noothong P. 2018. Comparison of the anatomical characteristics and physical and mechanical properties of oil palm and bamboo trunks. J. Wood Sci. 2018;64:186-92.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10086-017-1687-3
Syrový O., SvFtlÃk M., Pražan R., Pastorek Z., KubÃn K., Gerndtová, I. 2013. Mobile energy devices and the approximate values of unit fuel and energy consumption (Mobilnà energetické prostedky a orientanà hodnoty jednotkových spoteb paliv a energiÃ). Research Institute of Agricultural Engineering, p.r.i., Prague, 56 pp. [in Czech].
Wilhelm W.W., Johnson J.M., Karlen D.L., Lightle D.T. 2007. Corn stover to sustain soil organic carbon further constrains biomass supply. Agro. J. 99:1665-7.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2007.0150
Yovel Y., Franz M.O., Stilz P., Schnitzler H.U. 2008. Plant classification from bat-like echolocation signals. Plos Comp. Bio. 4:e1000032.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000032
Zhao H., Wang R.Y., Ma B.L., Xiong Y.C., Qiang S.C., Wang C.L. 2014. Ridge-furrow with full plastic film mulching improves water use efficiency and tuber yields of potato in a semiarid rain fed ecosystem. F Crop Res. 2014;161:137-48.
How to Cite
Gambo Jahun, B. (2021) “Effects of degree of oil palm frond mulching using tractor mounted mulcher blades”, Journal of Agricultural Engineering, 52(1). doi: 10.4081/jae.2021.1083.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
Similar Articles
- Sara Cucchiaro, Laura Carretta, Paolo Nasta, Federico Cazorzi, Roberta Masin, Nunzio Romano, Paolo Tarolli, Multi-temporal geomorphometric analysis to assess soil erosion under different tillage practices: A methodological case study , Journal of Agricultural Engineering: Vol. 53 No. 1 (2022)
- Silvio Kosutic, Daniele De Wrachien, Report on the 41st International Symposium Actual Tasks on Agricultural Engineering, 19-22 February 2013, Opatija, Croatia , Journal of Agricultural Engineering: Vol. 44 No. 1 (2013)
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
