Soil compaction caused by irrigation machinery
Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Machines and Production Systems, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, SK 94976 Nitra, Slovakia, *Correspondence: koloman.kristof@uniag.sk
Abstract:
This contribution is focused on the analysis of soil compaction with chassis of a wide-span irrigation machine, Valmont. The sprinkler had 12 two-wheeled chassis (size of tyre 14.9”×24”). During the evaluation of soil compaction, we monitored the values of penetration resistance and soil moisture during the operation of the sprinkler. Considering the performance parameters of the pump, the sprinkler was only half of its length (300 m) in the technological operation. In this area, also field measurements were performed in 19 monitoring points spaced both in tracks and outside the chassis tracks. The analysis showed the impact of compression with sprinkler wheels. The results of average resistance ranged from 1.20 to 3.26 MPa. The values of the maximum resistance ranged from 2.30 to 5.35 MPa. The results indicated a shallow soil compaction; however, it is not devastating.
Key words:
penetration resistance, soil, soil moisture, sprinkler