Development of furrow opener for liquid fertilizer application in soil

Furrow opener for liquid fertilizer delivery

Abstract

Designing a furrow opener for the simultaneous placement of seed and liquid fertilizer posed a challenge due to the toxic effects of liquid fertilizers like UAN on seeds. To address this, furrow openers were developed to place fertilizer at a deeper depth and seeds at a shallower depth, with horizontal spacing between the respective delivery tubes. Two types of furrow openers—hoe and shovel—were designed and tested in a soil bin to evaluate soil spread width, backfill cover, draft, and vertical separation between seed and fertilizer. Among the tested parameters, backfill cover and draft were key selection criteria. Results showed greater backfill cover with shovel-type openers (6.33 cm) compared to hoe-type (5.77 cm) at 11% soil moisture and a working depth of 9 cm. At 6% moisture content, backfill cover increased due to reduced cohesion between soil particles, with values of 7.63 cm and 7.93 cm for hoe and shovel types, respectively. Draft requirement was lower for shovel openers (132 N) than hoe types (148 N), attributed to their lower rake angle. Overall, the shovel-type opener exhibited better performance in terms of backfill and lower draft, indicating its suitability for efficient seed and liquid fertilizer application in varying soil conditions.