Soil Moisture Content as a Determining Factor for Machinery Selection
Abstract
Experiments were conducted at the Seed Propagation Farm of the
Rahad Scheme (280km south of Khartoum) to determine the soil workability criterion of the clay soil, which is the dominant type of soil in the region of rainfed agriculture in the Sudan. The parameters used were the soil bulk density, shear strength, draft, wheel slip and particle size distribution. It was found that the suitable range of SMC for plowing lies between 0.17FC and 0.80FC (14%-29.9% of the available moisture content).
References
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Selirio, I.S. and D.M. Brown. 1972. Estimation of spring work days from climatological records. Canadian Agricultural Engineering 14: 79-81.
Shaw, R.H. 1965. Estimation of field working days from meteorological data. Iowa State Journal of Sciences 39(4): 393-402.
Simalenga, T.E. 1989. Simulation model to predict field work days and its use in machinery selection under tropical conditions. Ph.D. thesis, Royal Vete14nary and Agricultural University, Agrovej, Denmark.
Tulu, M.Y., J.B. Holtman, R.V. Friday and S.D. Parson. 1974. Timeliness costs and available working days for shelled corn. Transaction of the American Society of Agricultural Engineering 17(5): 798-800.
Witney, B.D. and K. E. Oskou. 1982. The basis of tractor power selection on arable farm. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 27: 513- 527.
Voorhees. M.L. and P.N. Walker. 1977. Tractionability as a function of
soil moisture. Transactions of ASAE 20 (5): 806-861.
Batesman, H.P. 1963. Effect of field machine compaction on soil
physical properties and crop response. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineeringl: 19-25.
Culpin. C. 1976. Farm Machinery. Crosby Lockwood Staples, Granada Publishing, London, UK.
Farbrother, H.G. 1969. Cotton Research Annual Reports. London, UK. Gill. W.R. and G.E. Vanden Berge 1967. Soil dynamic in tillage and traction. United States Department of Agriculture Handbook No. 316. Washington, USA.
Hassan, A.E. and R.S. Broughton. 1975. Soil moisture criteria for tractability. Canadian Agricultural Engineering 17 (2): 124-129.
Knight, S.J. and D.R. Fretiag. 1982. Measurement of soil trafficability characteristics. Transaction of the American Society of Agricultural Engineering 5: 121-124.
Krause, R. and F. Lorenz. 1984. Soil tillage in the tropics and subtropics. GTZ. Dag. Hammerskj01d-Weg 1-2, D 6236, Eschborn l. Germany.
Notle, B.W., NOR. Fausey and R.W. Skagg. 1983. Time available for work on two Ohio soils. Transaction of the American Society of Agricultural Engineering 2: 445-451.
Rounsevell, M.D.A. 1993. A review of soil workability model and their limitations temperate regions. Soil Use and Management 9:15-21.
Rosenberge, S.E., C.A. Rotz, J.R. Black and H. Mukhtar. 1982. Prediction of suitable days for field work. Transaction of the American Society of Agricultural Engineering. Ames, Iowa, USA.
Selirio, I.S. and D.M. Brown. 1972. Estimation of spring work days from climatological records. Canadian Agricultural Engineering 14: 79-81.
Shaw, R.H. 1965. Estimation of field working days from meteorological data. Iowa State Journal of Sciences 39(4): 393-402.
Simalenga, T.E. 1989. Simulation model to predict field work days and its use in machinery selection under tropical conditions. Ph.D. thesis, Royal Vete14nary and Agricultural University, Agrovej, Denmark.
Tulu, M.Y., J.B. Holtman, R.V. Friday and S.D. Parson. 1974. Timeliness costs and available working days for shelled corn. Transaction of the American Society of Agricultural Engineering 17(5): 798-800.
Witney, B.D. and K. E. Oskou. 1982. The basis of tractor power selection on arable farm. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 27: 513- 527.
Voorhees. M.L. and P.N. Walker. 1977. Tractionability as a function of
soil moisture. Transactions of ASAE 20 (5): 806-861.
Published
2021-06-28
How to Cite
D. ELFADIL, Abdelkarim; A. ALI, Mohammed; I. MOHAMMED, Hassan.
Soil Moisture Content as a Determining Factor for Machinery Selection.
Gezira Journal of Agricultural Science, [S.l.], v. 2, n. 2, p. 143-151, june 2021.
ISSN 1728-9556. Available at: <http://37.60.236.48/index.php/gjas/article/view/2009>. Date accessed: 03 june 2026.
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