International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

The key problem in the technological process of harvesting any root crops is the removal and harvesting of tops from their heads on the root. Root crop tops are a valuable product, such as a source of animal feed, green fertiliser, and a suitable raw material for biogas production, and therefore a prerequisite for harvesting them is to completely cut off all the green mass from the heads, collect it in a vehicle and transport it to the place of use. The main thing is to ensure that root crops do not have green plant residues on their heads, that the heads themselves are not damaged and that they are not knocked out of the soil. The purpose of this study is to develop and test in production conditions a new combined unit for harvesting root crop tops using an integrated arable wheeled tractor. This study used the methods of machine use in crop production, methods of experimental research and field testing of agricultural machines and evaluation of their performance indicators. As a result of the study, a new design and technological scheme for harvesting root crop tops using an integrated arable wheeled tractor of traction class 3 was developed and substantiated. The developed and tested unit performs the technological process steadily and has sufficiently high quality indicators of the tops harvesting. Thus, when using a three-row version of the tops harvesting unit, the amount of cut tops is about 95…98%. The degree of damage to the heads of root crops does not exceed the norms established by agricultural requirements (no more than 5%). However, during the operation of this tops harvester, there is too high a percentage (60…65%) of grinding of tops leaves during its continuous cutting and loading without spear.

The presented research results concern the amount of work and energy incurred in the grain production technology and the aspect of the quality of separating grain from the cob cores. The dynamic increase in the area of sweet corn cultivation for processing purposes (canning, freezing) affects the fact that manual harvesting is increasingly being replaced by combine harvesting. It ensures higher and energy-efficient work efficiency, as well as harvesting at the optimal stage of ripeness, which is particularly important in the case of sweet corn. Sweet corn cobs of the Candle variety were harvested with a Bourgoin combine harvester at the stage of late-milk maturity, and then subjected to processing consisting in de-shirting and cutting off the grain The quality requirements of the separated grain are, m.in: smooth surface and equal length of the cut grains, no mechanical damage and low losses of weight and nutrients. The quality of the separated (cut) grain was analyzed by measuring the length and surface condition of the cut grain. Grain with weight losses was classified as grain of inferior quality. The grains were cut off on a cutter for variables ranging from 167.5 to 301.2 rad/s angular velocity of the knife head and constant linear speed of the cob feeder 0.31 m/s. For comparison purposes, grain is divided into three classes. The workload incurred for the combine cob harvesting was the highest for post-harvest processing of cobs – 31% and soil cultivation – 27%, and energy expenditures for soil cultivation – 341 kWh/ha and for combine harvesting – 285 kWh/ha. The length of the cut grain increased by 26% in class I, and decreased by 14% in class II and by 11% in class III. On the other hand, the share of grain of inferior quality decreased in class I by 5%, in class II by 7% and in class II by 3%.

The article identifies the main current problems of walnut cultivation technology and analyzes of existing technologies and machines for harvesting fruits, including nut crops.
As a result of the research, the main directions for improving the technology of growing walnuts by improving the technological and technical parameters of the design of machines and equipment for harvesting walnuts were proposed and hypotheses were put forward for their improvement, in particular, a machine equipped with a bar for shaking fruits and a catcher, which is designed to collect fruits and partial destruction of the green pericarp of the walnut fruit.

To establish influence of kinematic and constructive parameters of tops-harvesting machine on quality of a continuous cut of the massif of tops at oscillations in the longitudinal-vertical plane of its tops-cutting device at frontally mounted machine on a wheeled row-crop aggregate tractor. Used modeling methods based on higher mathematics, theoretical mechanics, solving a system of differential equations and compiling programs and numerical solutions on a PC. An equivalent scheme has been developed for a tops-harvester mounted on a wheeled tractor in front of it on its oscillations in the longitudinal-vertical plane, considering all the forces that arise, taking into account the kinematic excitation that occurs when moving along soil surface definitions also due to the elastic-damping properties of its support-copying wheels. For the specified equivalent scheme, on the basis of application of initial equations in the form of Lagrange of the 2nd kind, on the chosen generalized coordinates, the system of two nonlinear differential equations of oscillatory motion of the tops-harvesting machine is received. According to the analytical transformations, the solution of this system was obtained, which made it possible to obtain the f inal expressions for determining the amplitude and circular frequency of natural and forced oscillations of the tops-harvesting machine. Numerical calculations of the received expressions on the made program on the personal computer are carried out . According to the results of numerical simulation, the final expression was obtained, which allowed to determine the vertical displacements of the end of the rotary cutting unit during the oscillations of the topping machine in the longitudinal-vertical plane. Numerical calculations on the PC of the received expression gave the chance to construct graphic dependences which establish dependences of amplitude of the specified oscillations depending on constructive parameters of the tops-harvesting machine, and also characteristics of roughnesses of a soil surface and elasticdamping properties of copying wheels.

Agricultural labor is physically demanding, tedious and often carried out in unfavorable conditions, making it suitable for robotization. Due to climate change and the swift increase of the human populace on Earth, the hunger is becoming increasingly an issue (currently, around 2 billion people suffer from malnourishment). With the aim of maximal efficiency of the production of plant food, an accelerated introduction of robotics in the field of agriculture is required (Agriculture 4.0).

Reveals the scientific and methodological principles of definition agro-technical period for harvesting of walnuts depending on intensity fall fruit and the quality nut kernel.

Improvement of applied modern mechanized technologies for growing and harvesting of corn, introduction of hybrids with a low and strong stem, suitable for thicker sowing, irrigation, etc. Lead to an increase in average grain yield per hectare.

The best precursors for corn are bean cultures, peas, alfalfa etc. Keeping this crop rotation turns out to be appropriate for successful weed control. Permanent cultivation of corn is also perceived, but it should not last for more than three consecutive years on the same area. In addition, corn is also eligible for cultivation in the case of reduced soil cultivation, incl. And through direct sowing. Obviously, with these extensive opportunities for crop rotation, account should be taken of the period of natural soil compaction and of the type of soil. Production and protection is carried out by two technologies: harvesting of cobs and harvesting of grain.

The main advantages of the first technology are the following: harvesting can be done at higher grain humidity (about 30%) when the stems are still green and can be ensiled; No additional energy costs are required to dry the grain; Timely release of sowing areas for subsequent crops.

When grain maize is harvested, the development of the maturity phase and the decrease of grain moisture should be observed, as the maturity increases considerably in the harvest losses. With the prolongation of the maize harvest, the biological losses are particularly high mainly due to fallen cobs, which reach up to 25%.

With the maturity phase of corn growing, the productivity of combine harvesters’ increases, but taking into account the increase in losses, the optimal harvesting time for corn should be done on an economic basis.

Modern technologies of harvesting sugar beet tops provide solid preliminary cutting and collecting its harvest at the increased altitude and subsequent additional root crops heads cleaning from tops residues on a root. This last operation also defines quality of root crops of beet before their digging up. Objective of this research is improvement quality of root crops heads cleaning from tops remains, by development of interaction theory of flexible cleaning blade with a spherical surface of root crop head. In the theoretical study were used methods of modeling, higher mathematics and theoretical mechanics, as well as programming and carrying out numerical calculations on the PC. As a result of the conducted theoretical research the interaction theory of flexible cleaning blade with a root crop head surface in the course of its cleaning from tops remains is developed. On the basis of the received differential equations of blade movement which is pivotally mounted on the drive shaft with a horizontal axis of rotation, new mathematical dependences which justify basic parameters of this technology process are given.

A comparison has been made of four technologies for mechanized sesame harvesting in conditions of Bulgaria. The first is one- stage harvesting with grain harvester. The second is two- stages whole-plant harvesting. The third is two- stages harvesting where the first stage is collecting the sesame capsules and the second – threshing the capsules after draying. The last technology is one – stage seeds harvest- ing while the plants are "on roots". The first technology has been recommended for large and flat fields. The third technology has been the most suitable for production of seeds. The forth technology is suitable for small-size fields. For such conditions has been elaborated a prototype which harvests sesame at a humidity which is twice times higher than the optimal for grain harvester and at several times less consumption of energy.

Production of bulbs from flower crops is one of the most dynamic sectors in specific farming systems. Due to their intensive nature, a rapid change in growing conditions, as they tend to change more quickly than other traditional Bulgarian agricultural crops. To implement specialized farming systems the following important conditions must be available: – the availability of highly specialized staff, familiar with specific biological and physiological characteristics of flower crops, with growing technologies, harvesting, storagе and accelerated production of flowers; – the existence of universal and specialized machines and equipment; – аn environment оф propagation and storage, incl. laboratory facilities and outdoor production areas.

Harvesting of oil seed rape and avoiding of big grain losses require specific adjustments of the machine. The basic level of grain machine losses comes from the entrance device (header) added the losses from the following up devices in accordance of the applying technological scheme. The mean feature for each device is its exponential character, which means, that they are very sensitive to the parameter changes, from which they depends on. By suitable prescription of the technological adjustments and adequate selection of the machine type those losses can be reduced below the agritechnical requirements.

Harvesting of oil seed rape and avoiding of big grain losses require specific adjustments of the machine. The basic level of grain machine losses comes from the entrance device (header) added the losses from the following up devices in accordance of the applying technological scheme. To reduce the seed losses into the harvester it is recommended to operate with the header in accordance with the rotor or hybrid type thresher-separator device.