Contact pressures and the impact of farm equipment on Latosol with the presence and absence of sugarcane straw

Abstract

High contact pressures applied to soil result in a greater degree of compaction, in addition to promoting other negative effects. The objective of this study was to quantify contact areas by using different methodologies, and pressures of farm equipment employed in production activity and evaluate structural changes caused in a Red Latosol with the presence and absence of straw cover. The design was completely randomized in a factorial scheme of type 4 (tire on front axle, tire on rear axle, tire on a sugarcane wagon and metallic track of sugar cane Harvester) x 2 (presence and absence of straw). The contact area (CA) of the run was obtained by three procedures: analytical measure of the area of an ellipse (CA1); digital measurement of area of an ellipse (CA2); and measurement of real contact area (RCA), with digital resources. The contact pressure was calculated from the ratio of mass of each machine's axle and the contact area of the run. The contact area obtained according to the procedure of the ellipse (CA1 and CA2) is overrated when compared to actual area obtained digitally (RCA). The straw reduces the contact pressure in the soil, due to the deep tire treads and consequently, increased contact area. Areas where the traffic of the machines occurred with soil covered with the presence of straw showed reduced soil resistance to penetration, cone index and pre-consolidation pressure, confirming that the increased contact area produced by straw reduced the pressure applied and the compression power dissipated in the soil. Index terms:Farming traction tire; farming trailer tire; metal track; wheel soil interaction. RESUMOAltas pressões de contato aplicadas ao solo resultam em um maior grau de compactação deste, além de promover outros efeitos maléficos. O objetivo deste estudo foi quantificar as áreas e pressões de contato de conjuntos motomecanizados empregados na atividade sucroalcooleira e avaliar as alterações estruturais proporcionadas em um Latossolo Vermelho com e sem cobertura de resíduos vegetais (palha). O delineamento empregado foi o inteiramente casualizado em esquema fatorial do tipo 4 (pneu acoplado no eixo dianteiro, pneu acoplado no eixo traseiro, pneu acoplado a um transbordo agrícola canavieiro e esteira metálica de colhedora de cana de açúcar) x 2 (com e sem palha na superfície). A área de contato (CA) dos rodados foi obtida por três procedimentos: medida analítica da área de uma elipse (CA1); medida digital da área de uma elipse (CA2); e medida da área de contato real (RCA), com recursos digitais. A pressão de contato foi calculada a partir da relação da massa dos eixos de cada conjunto motomecanizado e a respectiva área de contato do rodado. A área de contato obtida de acordo com o procedimento da elipse (CA1 e CA2) é superestimada quando comparada área real, obtida digitalmente (RCA). Os resíduos vegetais diminuem a pressão de contato na interface rodado-solo, devido ao maior aprofundamento das garras do rodado e por consequência, aumento da área de contato. Áreas onde o tráfego d...

Soil compaction during harvest operations in five tropical soils with different textures under eucalyptus forests

“…The susceptibility of soils to compaction and the extent of soil compaction can be evaluated with different properties of the soil, such as bulk density, porosity, penetration resistance, hydraulic conductivity (Ampoorter et al, 2010;Silva et al, 2011;Moreira et al, 2012;Braga et al, 2013;Lopes et al, 2015;Silva et al, 2016), and more recently, the precompression stress (Araujo-Junior et al, 2011;Figueiredo et al, 2011;Pacheco;Cantalice, 2011;Ajayi et al, 2013). Precompression stress is generally considered as (a) an indicator of the soil mechanical strength (Ajayi et al, 2013); (b) the maximum pressure that should be applied to the soil to prevent compaction (Severiano et al, 2010;Araujo-Junior et al, 2011), and (c) the required pressure by the root system to enable the root elongation (Iori et al, 2013).…”

Qualidade Estrutural Do Solo Após O Corte Florestal Por Harvester De Pneus E Escavadeira Hidráulica Adaptada

“…Após o tráfego da escavadeira hidráulica adaptada na camada de 0 a 0,10 m, a resistência do solo à penetração apresentou aumento médio de 39%, enquanto após o tráfego do harvester de pneus, o aumento foi de 77% na mesma camada. Essa susceptibilidade na camada de 0 a 0,10 m de profundidade também foi relatada Silva et al (2016). Além disso, estudo de Ampoorter et al (2010) relatam que as alterações físicas do solo tendem a ser mais intensas logo abaixo da linha de tráfego das máquinas.…”

Soil compaction on traffic lane due to soil tillage and sugarcane mechanical harvesting operations

“…According to Severiano et al (2010), the adoption of preventive measures to avoid additional soil compaction by mechanical sugarcane harvesting is recommended, including the control of pressure level per axle of the machine (Bennett et al, 2015), as well as, control of the inflating pressure of tires and increasing the number of axles of trailers, reducing thus the load applied on soil by the machine. Traffic over crop residues has also been suggested as a preven- tive measure, in addition to monitoring soil moisture to perform agricultural driving at moisture contents below the limit (Silva et al, 2016). These preventive traffic control measures (Sousa et al, 2017) may be a promising alternative to avoid the spread of soil compaction throughout the entire sugarcane cultivation area.…”