Abstract

Manual spading needs more labour, takes more time, high energy and cost per cultivable area. The depth of cut is also less in manual spading operation. Tractor operated spading machines have their own set of limitations in small fields, and their cost was also out of reach for small and marginal farmers. These factors lead to the development of a spading machine as an attachment to power tiller. Overall, the maximum field efficiency 87 per cent was achieved at the forward speed of 2.1 km h-1, when the depth of cut was 10 cm at 30° spade angle and 200 rpm crankshaft speed. The minimum fuel consumption 0.87 l h-1 was noticed at 1.5 km h-1 forward speed, 10 cm depth of operation and 100 rpm crankshaft speed respectively.