Vergleich zweier Direktsaat-Säschare

: Analyse von Arbeitsqualität und Pflanzenentwicklung unter variierenden Einsatzbedingungen

Abstract

The global population growth and an increase in consumption are putting pressure on natural resources and agricultural production. At the same time, agriculture is leading to degradation of soil and water resources, as well as biodiversity and climate. Considering these challenges, the urgency for sustainable and site-adapted agriculture is becoming ever greater. Conservation agriculture is a promising alternative that combines minimum tillage, permanent soil cover and crop diversity to improve soil structure and minimise erosion. Consequently, the development of site-adapted and reliable no-till seeders plays a central role, with a particular focus on the further development and optimization of coulter systems. To evaluate the current state of no-till technology developed by PÖTTINGER Landtechnik GmbH, their seeding system was compared with the Avatar no-till seeder from HORSCH Maschinen GmbH. A strip trial with pea crops was conducted on uncultivated wheat stubble using a test machine equipped with one coulter from Pöttinger and one from Horsch. As part of this systematic field trial, the two coulter systems were tested under different soil densities and operating speeds. The methodology included a quantitative survey of physical and technical characteristics, such as degree of tillage, furrow closure, coverage of the seeds with soil and hairpinning effect. By analysing germination behaviour, field emergence and plant growth, additional agronomic parameters were recorded in order to evaluate the performance and working quality of both coulter systems. The recorded results show that both coulter systems can achieve satisfactory germination and successful field emergence under optimal, uncompacted soil conditions, with no significant differences observed between the two systems. However, under compacted soil and dry conditions, both systems failed to perform reliably due to insufficient coulter pressure on the experimental machine, resulting in poor crop emergence. Significant differences were observed in degree of tillage, depth of the seed furrow, coverage of seeds with soil and plant development. The Horsch coulter shows a 9,0 % lower level of soil cultivation on uncompacted soil. In terms of seed furrow closure, the Pöttinger coulter achieves 1,3 cm lower average furrow depth at normal soil density, however the greater variability in data indicates an unevenly closed furrow. The Pöttinger coulter also shows a 0,5 cm higher coverage of seeds with soil, which correlates with the furrow closure characteristics. The significant differences in above-ground plant height are in favour of the Horsch coulter, although these differences are only a few millimetres and the soil coverage of the seeds could have had an impact. In contrast, the total plant length is significantly higher with the Pöttinger coulter. No reliable data was collected on the hairpinning effect, but increased accumulations of chaff in the seed furrow were observed with the Horsch coulter. The working speed has a significant influence on several parameters, but no consistent trend has been observed across all evaluated characteristics.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Franz Handler (Supervisor)