SG (Slot)

METHODS AND MATERIALS
4
The tillage machineries for the mechanization of Nigerian
mound making hoes were designed and constructed in the Department
of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of
Technology, Owerri.
In the first of two separate designs and constructions the
machine consisted of three selected hoes radially mounted on
three hydraulically operated shanks. The hoes selected were
of the Abakaliki "ogu uku" type. A hydraulic cylinder
controls the inward and outward swing of the hoes, The shanks
were pin jointed to a hydraulically operated centre table,
The hoes cut into the soil when the centre table is lowered,
The raising of the table also raises the hoes, The outward
swing of the hoes automatically follows at the instance the
centre table is lowered. The centre table is supported by a
98,0cm square frame, This frame is linked to a hydraulic
cylinder that operates the centre table, The machine is
connected to a tractor drawbar and hysraulic control system
(Fig, 1), The r~ising of the hoes from the soil can be
initiated from the tractor hydraulic system. The continuous
operation of the hydraulic cylinders from a stationery tractor
facilitates the cutting and heaping together of soil to make
a mound, This machine is herewith referred to as type 1
machine,
In the second design and construction shown in Fig. 2 and
which is a modification of Fig, 1, a combination of the hydraulic
control system and the power take off (pto) from the
tractor was used to generate the inward and outward swing of
the hoes, Four hoes with serrated cutting edges were fabricated
with similar shapes to the Abakaliki hoes and used in
place of the traditional hoes from local blacksmiths.
The in and out swings of the four radially positioned hoes
were initiated from the rotation of the power take off shaft
and the transmission of a cam system, The pto shaft is
connected to the rotary face which when in rotation produces
a vertical reciprocating motion of a pitman on the cam, The
supporting motion of the pitman sets the link arms supporting
the four hoes in the swing motion, The combination of the
motions of the hydraulically controlled centre table and the
swing of the hoes facilitates the cutting nand heaping together
of soil to make mounds. The cutting edges of the hoes
in this type 2 machine were serrated to facilitate trash
cutting.
These machines have been used to make mounds on a freshly
prepared sandy loam field at the Federal University of
Technology, Owerri, Nigeria. Details of the design drawings
are shown in orthographic in Figs. 3 and 4. Manual hoe and
the hoes in the two-types of machines were used comparatively
to make nine sets of mounds on different locations in a sandy
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