Tractor Ploughing Manual, The

Brian Bell

• Publisher: Old Pond Books
• Year: 2004
• ISBN:
  9781912158027
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Agronomy
• Index: Technology & Engineering

A Norfolk farmer's son, Brian played a key role in developing agricultural education in Suffolk from the 1960s onwards. For many years he was the vice-principal of the Otley Agricultural College where he headed the agricultural engineering section. He established the annual 'Power in Action' demonstrations in which the latest farm machinery is put through its paces and he campaigned vigorously for improved farm safety, serving on the Suffolk Farm Safety Committee. He is secretary of the Suffolk Farm Machinery Club. In 1993 he retired from Otley College and was created a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to agriculture. He is secretary and past chairman of the East Anglian branch of the Institution of Agricultural Engineers. Brian's writing career began in 1963 with the publication of Farm Machinery in Cassell's 'Farm Books' series. In 1979 Farming Press published a new Farm Machinery, which is now in its fourth enlarged edition, with more than 25, 000 copies sold. Brian's involvement with videos began in 1995 when he compiled and scripted Classic Farm Machinery.

Chapter 1

1. Types of Plough

Ploughs have evolved over the years from horse-
drawn and steerable tractor ploughs to trailed and
later to the semi-mounted and fully-mounted
conventional and reversible ploughs of today. The
soil-working components and their basic settings
are common to all types of mouldboard plough
but the methods of adjustment vary according to
type, make and model.

shaft attached at right angles to the plough beams
provides the hitch points used to attach the
plough to the lower left and right hydraulic lift
arms and the top link is connected to the upper
part of the headstock. Depending on the make
and the type of tractor used with a mounted
plough it may have one, two or three wheels but
sometimes none at all.

MOUNTED CONVENTIONAL PLOUGHS

The main components of a conventional mounted plough.

The conventional mounted plough is attached to
the tractor hydraulic three-point linkage. The
plough frame consists of a separate beam for
each plough body, the three-point linkage
headstock and a curved or straight leg connecting
each right-hand plough body to the beam. Ploughs
may have one or more one-piece beams and legs
or individual legs bolted to the beams. The cross

The Share

The share, or point, cuts the bottom of the furrow
slice.

The Mouldboard

The mouldboard lifts and turns the furrow slice.
The shape, size and appearance of the furrow
slice depend on the profile of the mouldboard.

9

The various types of plough body in current use have evolved from the traditional, general purpose semi-digger and digger plough bodies. Slatted mouldboards tend to break up the furrow slice more efficiently than a full mouldboard and improve soil movement across the mouldboard when ploughing sticky soils. The bar point body often has a spring-loaded ba which is moved forward as the point wears away. This body is ideal for soils with large stones near the surface.

The Landside

The landside absorbs the side thrust produced by
the mouldboard. Some ploughs have a short,
fixed landside and a hinged, spring-loaded rear
furrow wheel or rolling landside. The vertical
movement of a rolling landside provides a more
rapid entry into work.

The Heel Iron

Bolted to the end of the rear landside, the heel
iron supports some of the weight at the back of
the plough.

The Tailpiece

The tailpiece, or mouldboard extension, helps to
press down the furrow slice, especially when
ploughing up grassland and heavy soils.

The Disc Coulter

The disc coulter cuts the side of the furrow slice
about to be turned by the mouldboard. Some
ploughs have a fixed knife coulter.

The Skimmer

The skimmer, or skim coulter, turns a small slice of
the corner of the furrow about to be turned and
throws it into the furrow bottom. This reduces the
likelihood of weeds growing up between adjacent
furrow slices.

The rear landside and hinged rear furrow or rolling
landside of a Ferguson mounted plough.

The Tractor Ploughing Manual

10

Controls and Adjustments

Hitching

Hitching a mounted conventional plough to the
three-point linkage is best done by first attaching
the lower left lift arm, then the right lower lift arm
and finally the top link. By using this method the
right-hand lift rod levelling box can be used to
align the right-hand lift arm with the cross shaft
pin. The use of an adjustable top link makes it
equally simple to align the top link pinhole with
the holes in the head stock.

Disc Coulters

For normal work the bottom
edge of the disc should be
set 12 mm (½ in) to the
unploughed side of the share.
A stepped furrow wall
indicates the disc is set too
far towards the unploughed
land and a ragged furrow wall
means that the disc is too far
towards the ploughed land.
The height of the disc above
the share will depend on
ploughing depth. It will need
to be about 12 mm (½ in)
above the share when
ploughing at a depth of
approximately 15 cm (6 in)
but it will need to be higher
for deeper work. In all cases
the disc should be set high
enough to prevent the disc
bearing from dragging along

on the previous furrow. This will cause undue wear
on the housing and will lose points in a ploughing
match. A knife coulter should be set with the
leading tip of the coulter in the same position as
the lowest edge of a disc coulter.

The disc coulter should normally run in a vertical
position but a small amount of undercutting with
the top edge slightly tilted towards the ploughed
land can be an advantage when ploughing grassland.

For normal ploughing the
disc coulter should be about
12 mm (½ in) above the share
but it will need to be higher
for deeper work.

1. Types of Plough

11

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