9 ms·
"The tractors had turned the soil into hard, clumpy clay which yielded bad crops and required more and more fertilizers every year." Mechanization is of course
by roel_v 9y ago
"The tractors had turned the soil into hard, clumpy clay which yielded bad crops and required more and more fertilizers every year."
Mechanization is of course the main driver of soil compaction, but here too there are advances in technology that mitigate issues without having to revert back to horses (or needing revolutions like swarms of small autonomous bots). For example, soil compaction can be reduced to the point where it doesn't affect plant growth significantly any more by using the correct tire pressure on tractors; i.e. (much) lower pressure when the tractor is on the field. But those pressures are not suitable for riding on roads or longer distances, so many farmers (actually, generally the contractor doing the work, although this varies by region/country) don't deflate their tires because it takes so much time to adjust them every time.
So, modern tractors have automatic inflate/deflate installations, making it much easier to use the right pressure for every task and on every soil type. Of course this costs extra, so you still need to convince people of the need for it, and enforce the habit on those actually doing the work.
- dsfyu404ed 9y agoIt's not practical to deflate a liquid filled tire. Most tractors run liquid filled tires for weight/traction.
- roel_v 9y agoNot sure if you're saying I'm just making things up - here are some of the first links off a quick google: - http://www.fwi.co.uk/machinery/tractor-tyres-make-sure-your-pressures-are-right.htm http://www.fwi.co.uk/machinery/tractor-tyres-make-sure-your-... - https://www.agribrink.com/ https://www.agribrink.com/ - http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/field/news/croptalk/2013/ct-1113a1.htm http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/field/news/croptal... Now I'm not a soil scientist, but I am a programmer who's for the last year or so been programming models for assessing soil threat risks, including soil compaction (one of the biggest soil threats in agriculture); and work with some of the world's foremost expert scientists in this field, as well as with representatives of e.g. machine manufacturers. They all say that compaction is mostly due to increases in weight of machinery, and that proper tire pressure is the most important mitigation measure we have available. Liquid-filled tires are never mentioned in this context, it's a rarity. You claim that 'most' tractors run liquid filled tires - I'm not sure what you're basing that on, or what locality you're talking about, but while I do not have any numbers at hand, I have never heard of this being something other than an incidental thing. For example, the Michelin site (http://agricultural.michelinman.com/us/Properly-use-your-tires/Ballasting-tyres-for-better-use http://agricultural.michelinman.com/us/Properly-use-your-tir...) mentions it as a possibility, but not as something that 'most' tractors would have.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- HeyLaughingBoy 9y agoIsn't that typically only done on the smaller tractors?