As it is known, the tractor is defined as the POWER SUPPLY of the agricultural enterprises, which is used to fulfill the equipment and other requirements determined according to the business needs in terms of carrying out the activities of the agricultural enterprises.
The selection of tractors, which is the most important power source in enterprises, is of great importance. When we evaluate the use of the tractor in agricultural areas, the following areas emerge basically. These;
- Herbal Production Enterprises
- Animal Production Enterprises
- It is located as Vineyard Garden and Greenhouse Enterprises.
1. Engine Power
2. Dimensions (Width, length, height)
3. Abdominal height
4. Maneuverability
The source of power to the tractors is the internal combustion engines working with diesel fuels. Movement from the engine is transmitted to the wheels by clutch, transmission differential and final speed reduction units. When tractors were first invented, they were called TRACTOR , which derives from the English word Traction . Over time, tractors that do business with traction capability have begun to transfer the power obtained from the engine to the equipment from different power output points. These power output points can be defined as the drawbar hook, PTO (generating torque with rotational movement), hydraulic power output points, and electrical power output points that have started to be used in new generation tractors.
Engine power is specified in the tractor in two ways as Maximum Engine Power and Nominal Engine Power. The maximum engine power expresses the power of the engine itself, and the nominal engine power expresses the power obtained after the losses are removed. In this context, considering the nominal engine power in the selection of the tractor in calculating the requirements of the equipment helps us to obtain correct results.
Equipment that takes action from the PTO that performs work with the rotation movement (such as a rotavator, branch cutter, sprayer, etc.) needs the power (torque) produced from the PTO. PTO power is based on such equipment. The power produced at different rates between engine power and PTO power is transmitted with a loss of approximately 15%, depending on the type of transmission. Reaching the power obtained as a result of the losses in order to plan the power calculation that will be required by the equipment will enable us to reach the right one.
One of the most important issues in vineyard tractors (external width, height, length) is the dimensions. The trees planted in the vineyards and orchards need to be produced in compact dimensions in order for the tractors to carry out their operating activities among the vineyards. Due to the changes in engine norms in recent years, the size of diesel engines has been growing and this situation also prevents the production of compact tractors.
On the other hand, developing production methods allow production in narrower rows. Due to the decreasing production areas, especially the difficulties in harvesting, the dwarf fruit production areas are increasing. Business owners choose these rootstock types in order to obtain production in the short term in the newly established orchards.
In very old trees, in the last stage before harvest, the fruits are concentrated on the lower branches. In trees planted in wide rows, the spacing of the rows is narrowed due to the fruit density formed on the lower branches before harvest. The activities that must be done in narrow rows are interrupted or the fruits on the trees may be damaged due to the tractor dimensions.
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In both cases, specially produced compact tractors make a great contribution to new planting areas or areas planted with old rootstocks.
Especially with the tractors to be used in new planting areas, more trees can be planted and more profit can be obtained from the unit area.
In our country, orchards generally consist of sloping areas and uneven areas that are not suitable for open field agriculture. Tractor-equipment associations are of great importance in terms of carrying out activities throughout the year.
Branch splitting etc. Tractor underbelly heights are important in the use of machines. Increasing the size of the rear wheels is not enough to solve the problems in increasing the tractor underbelly heights.
Tractor underbelly height represents the distance between the soil and the lowest surface of the tractor. This size is higher for double-wheel drive or four-wheel drive tractors than for single-wheel drive tractors.
In orchards, the distance between trees and the maneuverability of the tractor in turns at the end of the row are of great importance. There are different methods to increase the maneuverability of tractors. These;
- Hull Steering (Articulated Tractors)
- Changing the angle of the front axle wheels
- Bringing the two axes closer together, etc. There are differences in terms of usage areas of each method.
Articulated tractors are chosen in very narrow row areas where the distance at the ends of the rows is not sufficient. The articulated chassis provides superior maneuverability to the tractor, allowing the trailed type equipment to move smoothly on the tractor rotation axis as a single unit at the end of the row.
Changing the front axle wheel angles is one of the methods used in garden tractors. Although the methods made by changing the front axle angle are a solution in the short term, they also bring problems such as not being able to raise the angles sufficiently at the end of the rows, especially in double-wheel drive tractors. For this reason, the time spent for turning at the end of the row in new planting areas can lead to a time loss of up to 20% in enterprises.
Bringing the two axles closer together is a method generally applied in isodiametric tractors. With this simple method, the engine is positioned in front of the front axle, and the tractor, whose distance between the two axles is reduced, enables it to turn easily with a lower turning radius at the end of the row.
With the help of the same method, together with the turning maneuver of the tractor, fuel consumption, soil compaction, etc. The biggest source of problems such as weight balance can be provided in an optimum way.
The most valuable economic assets of agricultural enterprises are tractors. Especially in the growing fruit growing areas, choosing the tractors that can adapt to different structures before the establishments of the enterprises will increase the profits of the enterprises from the beginning.
Sources
Serdar Dikbaş