Fuel consumption of a machine-tractor unit in direct sowing of wheat

Abstract

Abstract. A study has been conducted on the fuel consumption in direct sowing of wheat with a Horsch Avatar 6.16 SD direct seeder aggregated to a John Deere 7250 R tractor. The experimental field (29.53 ha) was sown with winter soft wheat (Silverio variety) at a sowing rate of 195 kg/ha. The data from the sowing unit were collected using the JD Link telematics system, downloaded from the system and imported and compiled in a database. Fuel consumption was analyzed in accordance with the operation mode, the idle mode and the transportion mode of the machine-tractor unit. It was found that the average fuel consumption in work mode (when the seeder was sowing) was 23.08 l/h, while in transportion mode the seeding unit consumed 16.55 l/h and while the unit was idling it consumed 4.30 l/h. The results also show that the seeding unit has travelled 63 km and consumed 185 L of diesel fuel at an average diesel consumption of 23.08 l/h.