Influence of forage harvester chopping equipment on characteristics of chips

Abstract

The modern technologies for harvesting fodder for preservation are applied by using technical equipment that performs multiple operations (cutting, chopping, transporting) in a single pass, thus contributing to cost reduction and decrease of the losses during harvesting. Fodder harvesting for silage is mainly done with fodder harvesters, provided with harvesting equipment according to the operations in the technological process and fodder crop. This paper presents the experimental results obtained with a trailed fodder harvester on the main characteristics of the chopped material which can influence the quality of the silo: the chopping length of fodder plants and the uniformity of the chopping length. The process of compaction and air removal from the mass of chopped fodder are influenced by the chopping length of fodder plants and the uniformity of the chopping length, parameters realized by the chopping device of the harvesting equipment. In this paper a comparative analysis of the main types of chopping devices generally used on fodder harvesters was made and also the identification of their advantages and disadvantages, the quality of chopped material experimentally obtained for two types of harvested fodder (lucerne and vetch) and the energy consumption registered. The experiments were carried out in experimental fields at INMA Bucharest, with a trailed fodder harvester, in aggregate with an agricultural tractor of 58kW. The functional characteristics determined experimentally are summarized in tabular and graphical form and are useful to identify the best option for the chopping device and setting the operating mode depending on the characteristics of the culture to be harvested.