Present Situation of Tractor Implement Row-following Operation in Large-scale Upland Farming

Abstract

This study was to examine farmer's working conditions and the accuracy of tractor implements in following rows in a field, and to consider the most appropriate control speed of such implements as preliminary research for the development of an automatic guidance system.
1) In the case of seeding and transplanting, 10 to 16 percent of farmers' work time (driving a tractor) was used to check the position of attached implements. In cultivating and weeding, it was 16∼27%.
2) Concerning the accuracy of the row-following function of tractor implements, uniformity in row spacing is important. However, in actuality, the spacing of most fields varies between rows. Differences in row spacing ranged from 7.5cm to 11.5cm in the cases of seeding and transplanting. Moreover, for cultivating and weeding, the biggest observed difference was 8.2cm. Consequently, implement damage to crops was observed.
3) When tractor working speed was adjusted to 2m/s for seeding and transplanting, the control speed of an actuator for the automatic guidance system was calculated to be 6.6cm/s. The maximum control speed of the actuator must be at least 10cm/s for cultivating and weeding.