Operational and Technological Indicators of the Aggregates with the Plows PNL-8-40 and PBS-8М for Processing Soils in Arid Regions

Introduction. The main direction of economic development is creating innovative technologies and products, which can be competitive in the global market. The production of crop products is impossible without using the most energy-intensive technology of mold-board plowing, which has a strong effect on yielding ability in arid regions. Aim of the Study. The study is aimed at determining the operational and technological indicators of the production plow PNL-8-40 and the newly designed plow PBS-8M to reduce energy consumption and improve the agrophysical properties of the tilled soil. Materials and Methods. The operational and technological indicators of tilling soil process with the production plow PNL-8-40 and the newly designed plow PBS-8M were determined using standard research methods. According to the standard used by the Association of agricultural machinery test-engineers (СТО АИСТ 4.1-2010), there were defined the functional parameters of the plows: working speed, effective operating width, productivity per hour of main time, and per-hectare fuel consumption. In accordance with СТО АИСТ 001-2010, there was made the agronomic assessment of plowing quality. There we assessed the plowing depth, ridgeness of treated soil surface, degree and depth of plowing in stubble. Results. As a result of the study, there has been assessed the expediency of using the wide-coverage plow PBS-8M in the arid conditions of the left-bank area of the Volga region. There have been theoretically calculated and experimentally tested the operational indicators of plowing units. The productivity of the eight-furrow plow PBL-8M at a speed of 2.53 m/s and a plowing depth of 23 cm per hour is 30–33% more than the productivity of the eight-body plow PBL-8-40 with a less (by 22%) fuel consumption. According to the agrotechnical evaluation of technologies, the compared plows differ in the degree of trash embedding plant and crop residues along the depth of the plowing layer. The indicators of the soil density and water permeability parameters are almost equal. Discussion and Conclusion. As a result of using the new designed plow PBS-8M for cultivating heavy loamy soil, energy consumption is reduced while the agro-physical properties of the soil are improved. The plowing unit K-701+PBS-8M, moving at a working speed of 2.53 m/s, completes the work in space of an hour of basic operation time with a productivity of 3.9 ha/h. When using the unit K-701+PNL-8-40 in this operation mode, the productivity is 2.6 ha/h. When using the unit K-701+PBS-8M, fuel consumption is reduced to 3.8 kg per a hectare compared to the use of the unit K-701+PNL-8-40. The studies of the quality of the soil tillage showed that the soil tillage with both plows is of even depth of 23.0–23.4 cm across the full working width. The deviation of the working width from the designed width was 4.0% for each plow. The field surface ridge index was 6.9–8.2 cm. The technological parameters of the plows differed only in the degree of embedding millet plant and crop residues into the soil. After passing the plow PBS-8M, the stubble was distributed in a layer of 5–12 cm at a depth of 8–15 cm, after passing the plow PNL-8-40, the stubble was closer to the bottom of the furrow from 12 to 22 cm. The indicators of soil density and water permeability determined, after steam cultivation and before sowing winter wheat, were almost equal the studied plows that affected the resulting crop yield of 23.5–24.0 c/ha.