AGEN 371

EGERTON UNIVERSITY
Tel: 051-2217891/2 P.O Box 536 – 20115
051-2217810 Egerton, Kenya
Fax: 051-2217827 Website: www.egerton.ac.ke

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

AGEN 371: INTRODUCTION TO AGRICULTURAL FIELD MACHINES

Credit factors: 3.0 (Lectures 30 hrs., Practicals 30 hrs.)

Course Lecturer: George Orido
Telephone: 0721947930
E-mail Address: [email protected]
Practicals: A. M. Muyera
Anjol Napoo

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Introduction to agricultural field machines as a course entails the study of principles of soil
tillage; construction adjustment and operation of primary and secondary tillage implements,
seeding and planting machines, land levelling and earth moving equipment; construction,
design, adjustment and preparation of manure and fertilizer spreaders and distributors,
sprayers, and dusters; forage harvesters and choppers, combine harvesters; cotton pickers;
vegetable machines; chaff cutters and mowers. (Prerequisite: AGEN 174)

COURSE OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this course are to impart knowledge on:
• The potentiality of mechanization to render postharvest, processing and marketing
activities and functions more efficient, effective, and environmentally friendly.

• The basic importance of mechanization as a crucial input for agricultural crop

production.

• Significant contribution of sustainable agricultural mechanization to the development

of value chains and food systems.

“Transforming Lives Through Quality Education” Page 1

 AGEN 371
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this course students should be able to:
• Adjust, and operate: primary and secondary tillage implements; seeding and planting
machines; and land levelling and earth moving equipment.
• Prepare, operate, and adjust: manure and fertilizer spreaders/distributers; sprayers and
dusters; forage harvesters and choppers; combine harvesters; cotton pickers; vegetable
machines; and chaff cutters and mowers.

COURSE OUTLINE
WEEK LECTURE PRACTICALS
1. Principles of soil tillage
2. Primary and secondary tillage Construction, adjustment, and operation
implements
3. Land levelling and earth moving Types and working principles
equipment
4. Seeding and planting machines Calibration and operation
5. Manure and fertilizer Design, construction, adjustment, and
spreaders/distributers preparation
6. Sprayers and dusters Calibration and operation.
7. Forage harvesters and choppers Hitching, adjustments, and operations
8. Combine harvesters Types and working principles
9. Cotton pickers ”
10. Vegetable machines ”
11. Chaff cutters and mowers Hitching, adjustments, and operations
CAT
REVISION
UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS

“Transforming Lives Through Quality Education” Page 2

 AGEN 371

COURSE ASSESMENT
Practicals 15%
Course work 30%
CAT 30%
End of semester examination 70%

REFERENCES
Landers, A. (2000). Farm machinery: selection, investment, and management. Farming Press,
United Business Media.
Singh, T. P. (2016). Farm machinery. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.
Smith, H. P. (2020). Farm machinery and equipment. Read Books Ltd.
Mandal, D. (2016). Concepts of Farm Machinery and Power. Narendra Publishing House,
Delhi, India.

“Transforming Lives Through Quality Education” Page 3

 AGEN 371

TABLE OF CONTENTS
COURSE DESCRIPTION ......................................................................................................... 1

COURSE OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................... 1

LEARNING OUTCOMES ........................................................................................................ 2

COURSE OUTLINE ................................................................................................................. 2

COURSE ASSESMENT ........................................................................................................... 3

REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 3

PRINCIPLES OF SOIL TILLAGE ........................................................................................... 4

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY TILLAGE IMPLEMENTS .................................................. 6

LAND LEVELLING AND EARTH MOVING EQUIPMENT .............................................. 24

SEEDING AND PLANTING MACHINES ............................................................................ 28

MANURE AND FERTILIZER SPREADERS/DISTRIBUTERS .......................................... 39

SPRAYERS AND DUSTERS ................................................................................................. 43

FORAGE HARVESTERS AND CHOPPERS ........................................................................ 66

COMBINE HARVESTERS .................................................................................................... 70

COTTON PICKERS AND STRIPPERS ................................................................................. 74

VEGETABLE MACHINES .................................................................................................... 75

CHAFF CUTTERS AND MOWERS ...................................................................................... 78

PRINCIPLES OF SOIL TILLAGE

Tillage: This is defined as mechanical manipulation of soil to provide favorable condition for
proper crop growth. Soil tillage consists of breaking the compact surface of earth to a certain
depth and to loosen the soil mass so as to enable the roots of the crops to penetrate and spread
into the soil.
Objectives of tillage
The objectives of tillage are to:
✓ Prepare a desirable soil structure for a deep seed bed or a root bed suitable for different
types of crops. A granular structure is desirable to allow rapid infiltration and good
“Transforming Lives Through Quality Education” Page 4
 AGEN 371
retention of rainfall, to provide adequate air capacity and exchange within the soil and to
minimize resistance to root penetration. A good seed bed is generally considered to imply
finer particles and greater firmness in the vicinity of the seed.
✓ Control weeds or to remove unwanted crop plants (thinning).
✓ Manage plant residues. Mixing of trash is desirable from the tilth and decomposition stand
points and retention of trash in the top layers reduce erosion.
✓ Minimize soil erosion by following counter tillage, listing and proper placement of trash.
✓ Establish specific surface configurations for planting, irrigating, drainage, and harvesting
operations.
✓ Incorporate and mix fertilizers, pesticides, and soil amendments into the soil.
Classification of tillage: Tillage operations for seed bed preparations are classified as: primary
tillage, and secondary tillage.
Primary tillage: This is the initial major soil working operation designed to plough the soil
deeply to reduce soil strength, cover plant materials and rearrange aggregates. The objectives
of primary tillage are to:
✓ reduce soil strength
✓ rearrange aggregates
✓ cover plant materials and burry weeds
✓ kill insects and pests
Secondary tillage: Lighter and finer tillage operations performed in the soil after primary
tillage to create proper soil tilth and surface configuration for seeding and planting are called
secondary tillage operations. Secondary tillage operations are generally done on the surface of
the soil. They do not cause much soil inversion and shifting of soil from one place to other.
They consume less power per unit area compared to primary tillage operations. The main
objectives of secondary tillage are to:
✓ Break the big clods and make the soil surface uniform and levelled as needed for a seed
bed.
✓ Destroy grasses and weeds in the field.
✓ Cut crop residues and mix them with topsoil.
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY TILLAGE IMPLEMENTS
The implements used for primary tillage are known as primary tillage implements. They
include many animal drawn, and tractor drawn implements. Animal drawn implements mostly

“Transforming Lives Through Quality Education” Page 5

 AGEN 371
include indigenous ploughs and mouldboard ploughs. Tractor drawn implements include
mouldboard ploughs, disc ploughs, heavy duty disc harrows, sub soil ploughs, and chisel
ploughs.
The implements used for secondary tillage operations are called secondary tillage implements.
They include different types of harrows, cultivators, sweeps, clod crushers, levelers, bund
formers, and ridge ploughs.
In primary tillage there are important terms frequently used in connection with ploughing of a
land.
✓ Furrow: It is a trench formed by an implement in the soil during the field operation as
shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Furrow

✓ Furrow slice: The mass of soil cut, lifted, and thrown to one side is called furrow slice as
shown in Figure 2.

“Transforming Lives Through Quality Education” Page 6

 AGEN 371

Figure 2: Furrow slice

✓ Furrow wall: It is an undisturbed soil surface by the side of a furrow as shown in Figure
3.

Figure 3: Furrow wall

“Transforming Lives Through Quality Education” Page 7