TRENCHER FOR SUBSURFACE BANDING: SOIL FORCES AND CROP RESIDUE SHEARING PERFORMANCE
Applied Engineering in Agriculture, vol.42, no.4, pp.359-365, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 42 Issue: 4
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.13031/aea.16627
- Journal Name: Applied Engineering in Agriculture
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, CAB Abstracts, Compendex, DIALNET
- Page Numbers: pp.359-365
- Keywords: Keywords. Draft, Poultry litter, Poultry manure, Subsurface band application, Vertical force.
- Ataturk University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
A trencher assembly for shallow subsurface banding of poultry litter and other solid soil amendment materials was run on a soft sandy loam soil and a clay soil. On both soils, the trencher performance was investigated while cutting through crop residues which rested on the soil surface. The crop residues on the sandy loam were corn, cotton, soybean, and wheat. Those on the clay were corn and wheat. The trencher assembly draft on the clay soil with a no-residue bare soil surface, and with corn and wheat residue resting on the soil surface, was significantly greater at a trenching depth of 75 mm than at 50 mm. On the sandy loam, the upward vertical forces applied by the soil on the trencher assembly for the no-residue condition and the cotton, soybean, and wheat residues at the 50 mm depth were significantly less than the vertical forces for corn and wheat at the 75 mm depth. Mean percentages of residue stems sheared by the trencher assembly on the sandy loam were determined. Averaged across the two depths, the 91.1% and 88.0% percentages of residue stems that were sheared, for the soybean and cotton residues, respectively, were significantly greater than the 53.3% and 43.3% percentages for the corn and wheat residues, respectively.