Conditioner
Conditioners , also known as conditioners , are used in agriculture for the mechanical treatment of green waste in order to accelerate its drying. The evaporation- inhibiting wax layer is partially destroyed by kinking or squeezing.
advantages
The faster drying of the crop makes it possible to carry out all steps of forage preservation in one day. The plant's breathing losses are reduced. In addition, the saved tedding / turning reduces the loss of crumbling when harvesting silage .
disadvantage
In the production of hay , the crumbling losses increase. Rain significantly prolongs the drying process and deteriorates the forage quality more than with unprocessed cuttings.
The rollers or rotors kill a large part of the insects in the crop.
Procedure
Construction equipment
Conditioners are often built on disc mowers and are then called mower conditioners. The power requirement then increases by around 15 kW per meter of working width. A distinction is made between two methods:
- Processing by means of rollers. Here the crop is squeezed by means of smooth or corrugated steel or rubber rollers. The combined arrangement is also possible. This form of preparation is to be given preference for leafy cuttings.
- Processing by means of a rotor. Tines or flails fling the green waste through a metal comb and bend the stalk. The processing intensity is adjustable.
Intensive conditioner
These machines are independent devices and are used in an additional work step after mowing. The technology is designed in such a way that crumbling losses are largely avoided. However, precipitation here has a serious effect on the quality.
- The mat press processes the swath with rollers so intensively that it sticks together due to the exiting sap . A higher stubble is therefore necessary to ensure that the mat can be loaded later.
- The intensive conditioner deposits a very loose swath which also no longer needs to be processed.
Although the intensive processors do an excellent job, they were not able to establish themselves in practice due to the high purchase price, the limited area of application, the large power requirement and the low area coverage.
literature
- Agriculture: Volume 3 - Agricultural engineering and construction . BLV Verlagsgesellschaft, Munich, ISBN 3-405-14349-7 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Agricultural factors influencing biodiversity and ecosystem services. (PDF; 4.1 MB) In: blw.admin.ch . May 22, 2018, accessed November 9, 2019 .