Farm Machinery, Implements and Post-Harvest Technology
Farm Machinery, Implements and Post-Harvest Technology
This domain tests tillage implements, sowing and threshing machinery, field capacity, seed-drill calibration, drying, grading and storage. Expect practical calculations rather than descriptions of machines only.
Core rules and concepts
- Primary tillage breaks and inverts soil; secondary tillage prepares a seedbed. Conservation tillage reduces soil disturbance and residue burial.
- Field capacity is the area a machine can cover per unit time. Effective field capacity includes turning, filling and other lost time; theoretical field capacity does not.
- Seed-drill calibration ensures the correct seed rate. Check seed delivery over a measured distance or revolutions, then adjust the metering mechanism.
- Grain must be dried to safe moisture before storage. High moisture and warm conditions encourage mould, insects and mycotoxin risk.
Worked example
An implement has working width 2 m and operates at 5 km/h. Theoretical area covered = 2 m × 5,000 m/h = 10,000 m²/h = 1 ha/h. At 80% field efficiency, effective field capacity = 1 × 0.80 = 0.8 ha/h. The reasoning is to multiply width by speed, convert to hectares, then apply the efficiency factor.
Traps that cost marks
Do not report theoretical capacity as effective capacity. Do not mix metres and kilometres without converting. Do not store grain at fresh-harvest moisture. Do not calibrate a seed drill with a different seed lot or setting and assume the same rate.