Farm Machinery

Table of Contents

CLASS : JSS2

 

SUBJECT : AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

 

TERM : FIRST  TERM E-NOTE

 

WEEK : WEEK 7

 

Topic: Farm machines

Farm Machinery

Farm machinery are different type of machines and implements used in farming operations. These machines and implements are;

  1. Tractors
  2. Bulldozer
  3. Planters
  4. Sprayer
  5. Sheller
  6. Ridger
  7. Ploughs
  8. Harrows
  9. Harvesters
  10. Dryer
  11. Incubator
  12. Milking machines e.t.c

All these farm machines can be grouped into three

  1. Primary machines
  2. Intermediate machines
  3. Tractor coupled or mounted implements

 

TYPES OF FARM MACHINES

The following are types of machines and their uses.

1. Tractor: For pulling Farm implements and machines such as plough, harrows and planters For driving other farm machinery.

2. Bulldozer: For clearing and uprooting of big trees. Also, for leveling of land.

3. Tillage machines

(i) Plough

(ii) Harrows

(iii) Ridgers

(iv) Cultivators

(v) Rotavator

4. Planters: For planting seeds.

5. Lathes: For holding and turning wood or metals into shapes

6. Sprayers: For spraying chemicals on crops.

7. Motor- saws: For felling big trees

8. Harvesters : For harvesting grain crops and grasses

9. Seed drill: For planting seeds.

 

 

TRACTORS — These have large heavily treaded rear tyres used for pulling, pushing and lifting other farm implements or machinery. It uses either petrol or diesel as fuel to power it. A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction. Most commonly, the term is used to describe a farm vehicle that provides the power and traction to mechanize agricultural tasks, especially (and originally) tillage, but nowadays a great variety of tasks.

A Tractor is a machine with many components used for a lot of farm works.

The diagram below shows the parts of a tractor

 

TYPES OF TRACTOR

1. Two-wheeled Tractors

2. General Purpose Tractors

3. Heavy wheeled Tractors

4. Track-laying Tractors

The Two-wheeled Tractors are sometimes called horticultural tractors. They are mainly used for light cultivation such as harrowing. They usually pushed from behind

The General Purpose Tractors are the most common type of tractors. They are used to pull heavy machines.

The Heavy Wheeled Tractors are large tractors. They are used for heavy work such as ploughing and ridging and can be used for stumping felled trees.

Track- Laying Tractors are commonly known as caterpillars or bulldozers. They do not have wheels and tyres. They move with heavy chains on the track. They are used for clearing bush felling trees.

 

Tractors-coupled or mounted implements 

These are implements coupled or mounted on the tractor. Examples are

  • Tillage implements like ploughs, harrows and ridgers
  • Planters
  • Sprayers e.g broom sprayer

 

 

Tractor coupled with Plough

Intermediate machinery – Farm machines powered by a tractor, generator or electricity. Some of these are;

  1. Shellers
  2. Dryers
  3. Incubators
  4. Grinding machine
  5. Milking machine e.t.c

Secondary Tillage Implements

These implements are used to level the soil and break large clouds of earth formed during ploughing. They are also used to stir the soil and to prevent and destroy weeds.

Disc harrow – used for breaking large clods of earth. Also used for levelling the soil, pulverization and weed control.

Spike tooth harrow – Used to smoothen and level soil after ploughing. Also used to fill air apaces in the soil and to cultivate corn, cotton and other row crops.

Uses of Farm Machinery

There are various farm machinery with their specific uses, These include:

Tractors: For pulling tillage like plough, barrow ridger,  sprayere.t.c

Tractor

Planters: A planter is an agricultural farm implement towed behind a tractor, used for sowing crops through a field. It is connected to the tractor with a draw-bar, or a three-point hitch. It is used for planting seeds. Planters lay the seed down in precise manner along rows. Seeds are distributed through devices called row units. The row units are spaced evenly along the planter.

Planter with Tractor

Sprayer: A sprayer is a piece of equipment that is used to apply herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, agro-chemicals and water in irrigation farming on agricultural crops. Sprayers range in sizes from man-portable units (typically backpacks with spray guns) to trailed sprayers that are connected to a tractor, to self-propelled units similar to tractors, with boom mounts of 60–151 feet in length.

Sprayer

Sprayer with Tractor

Dryer: for drying harvested farm produce.

Farm Dryer

Sheller: To remove grains from cobs in maize, chaff from rice, millet e.t.c

Sheller

Grinding machines: For grinding harvested produce to pulp or powered form e.g cassava, yam, melon, groundnut, tomato e.t.c

Incubators: For keeping fertilized eggs on right temperature and humidity and for hatching.

Incubator

Plough: Tillage is the basic operation in farming. It is done to create favourable conditions for seed placement and plant growth. This is done mainly with a plough. To breakup or loosen the soil,kill insects and uprooting weeds. The basic components of the plough are a shoe, a share, a body, a handle and a beam.

Plough

Harvester:To harvest mature and ripe crops especially grains.

Harvester

Harvester

Milking Machine: Milking machines are used to harvest milk from cows when manual milking becomes inefficient or labour-intensive. Milking machines work in a way that is different from hand milking or calf suckling. Continuous vacuum is applied inside the soft liner to massage milk from the teat by creating a pressure difference across the teat canal (or opening at the end of the teat). Vacuum also helps keep the machine attached to the cow.

Milking Machine

Flail mower: A flail mower is a type of powered garden/agricultural equipment, which is used to deal with heavier grass/scrub which a normal lawn mower could not cope with.

Flail mower

Rice Huller: A Rice huller or Rice husker is an agricultural machine used to automate the process of removing the chaff (the outer husks) of grains of rice.

Rice Huller

Seed drill: A seed drill is a sowing device that precisely positions seeds in the soil and then covers them. Before the introduction of the seed drill, the common practice was to plant seeds by hand.

Sowing machine with seed drill concept

Maintenance of Farm Machinery

  1. Lubrication of parts of engine with oil or grease to reduce friction
  2. Tightening of Bolts and Nuts
  3. Sharpening of Blunt tools especially cutting edges to avoid bluntness
  4. Cleaning and Storage after use

Practice Questions

Tractor, Sprayer, Planter, Sheller, Seed drill, Rice huller, Milking machine , Harvester, Plough, Dryer, Harvester, Flail mower

Use the option above to answer Questions 1 – 8 below

  1. A _____ is used for drying harvested farm produce
  2. A _____ is a sowing device that precisely positions seeds in the soil and then covers them
  3. The ____ is used harvest mature and ripe crops especially grains
  4. A _____ is a type of powered garden/agricultural equipment, which is used to deal with heavier grass/scrub which a normal lawn mower could not cope with.
  5. A ___ is used to remove grains from cobs in maize, chaff from rice, millet
  6. A ___ is a piece of equipment that is used to apply herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, agro-chemicals and water in irrigation farming on agricultural crops.
  7. A ____ is an agricultural farm implement towed behind a tractor, used for sowing crops through a field
  8. A ____ is used for pulling tillage like plough, barrow ridger,  sprayer

 

 

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