Comparative Analysis of Mechanical In-Field Corn Residue Shredding Methods: Evaluating Particle Size Distribution and Rating of Structural Integrity of Corn Stalk Segments
The European corn borer is a major pest of corn that overwinters in corn stubble and stalks. Shredding these residues disrupts the larvae’s habitat or directly harms them. A corn header has been engineered with a new type of cutting tool on its horizontal choppers, featuring sharp edges and dulled f...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-02-01
|
| Series: | Agriculture |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/2/263 |
| _version_ | 1827344376365318144 |
|---|---|
| author | Sebastian Ramm Hans Heinrich Voßhenrich Mario Hasler Yves Reckleben Eberhard Hartung |
| author_facet | Sebastian Ramm Hans Heinrich Voßhenrich Mario Hasler Yves Reckleben Eberhard Hartung |
| author_sort | Sebastian Ramm |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The European corn borer is a major pest of corn that overwinters in corn stubble and stalks. Shredding these residues disrupts the larvae’s habitat or directly harms them. A corn header has been engineered with a new type of cutting tool on its horizontal choppers, featuring sharp edges and dulled flails, to shred corn stubble near the soil surface. This study investigated the effect of the dulled flails on the shredding intensity of corn stover. Field trials compared flail knives with standard knives for particle size distribution of corn stover and structural integrity of corn stalk segments. Additionally, a common two-step method, which involved a standard knives-equipped corn header followed by tractor-driven flail mowers, was tested. The flail knives reduced the mean particle size by 3.6 mm compared to the standard knives. Subsequent processing with tractor-driven flail mowers, following the corn header using standard knives, led to a reduction in mean particle size by 11.8 mm. It also further reduced the number of incompletely destroyed stalk segments. However, completely intact internodes were scarce in all methods. Given that flail knives enhance shredding intensity without a second processing step, this concept is concluded to be effective for corn stover shredding. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:46:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-24455a7ed5db43efb1f754a99626e341 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0472 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:46:19Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj.art-24455a7ed5db43efb1f754a99626e3412024-02-23T15:03:45ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722024-02-0114226310.3390/agriculture14020263Comparative Analysis of Mechanical In-Field Corn Residue Shredding Methods: Evaluating Particle Size Distribution and Rating of Structural Integrity of Corn Stalk SegmentsSebastian Ramm0Hans Heinrich Voßhenrich1Mario Hasler2Yves Reckleben3Eberhard Hartung4Department of Agricultural Engineering, Kiel University of Applied Sciences, 24783 Osterrönfeld, GermanyThünen Institute of Agricultural Technology, 38116 Braunschweig, GermanyLehrfach Variationsstatistik, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, 24118 Kiel, GermanyDepartment of Agricultural Engineering, Kiel University of Applied Sciences, 24783 Osterrönfeld, GermanyInstitute of Agricultural Engineering, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, 24118 Kiel, GermanyThe European corn borer is a major pest of corn that overwinters in corn stubble and stalks. Shredding these residues disrupts the larvae’s habitat or directly harms them. A corn header has been engineered with a new type of cutting tool on its horizontal choppers, featuring sharp edges and dulled flails, to shred corn stubble near the soil surface. This study investigated the effect of the dulled flails on the shredding intensity of corn stover. Field trials compared flail knives with standard knives for particle size distribution of corn stover and structural integrity of corn stalk segments. Additionally, a common two-step method, which involved a standard knives-equipped corn header followed by tractor-driven flail mowers, was tested. The flail knives reduced the mean particle size by 3.6 mm compared to the standard knives. Subsequent processing with tractor-driven flail mowers, following the corn header using standard knives, led to a reduction in mean particle size by 11.8 mm. It also further reduced the number of incompletely destroyed stalk segments. However, completely intact internodes were scarce in all methods. Given that flail knives enhance shredding intensity without a second processing step, this concept is concluded to be effective for corn stover shredding.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/2/263corn harvestcorn headercorn stoverflail mowerEuropean corn borercombine harvester |
| spellingShingle | Sebastian Ramm Hans Heinrich Voßhenrich Mario Hasler Yves Reckleben Eberhard Hartung Comparative Analysis of Mechanical In-Field Corn Residue Shredding Methods: Evaluating Particle Size Distribution and Rating of Structural Integrity of Corn Stalk Segments Agriculture corn harvest corn header corn stover flail mower European corn borer combine harvester |
| title | Comparative Analysis of Mechanical In-Field Corn Residue Shredding Methods: Evaluating Particle Size Distribution and Rating of Structural Integrity of Corn Stalk Segments |
| title_full | Comparative Analysis of Mechanical In-Field Corn Residue Shredding Methods: Evaluating Particle Size Distribution and Rating of Structural Integrity of Corn Stalk Segments |
| title_fullStr | Comparative Analysis of Mechanical In-Field Corn Residue Shredding Methods: Evaluating Particle Size Distribution and Rating of Structural Integrity of Corn Stalk Segments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparative Analysis of Mechanical In-Field Corn Residue Shredding Methods: Evaluating Particle Size Distribution and Rating of Structural Integrity of Corn Stalk Segments |
| title_short | Comparative Analysis of Mechanical In-Field Corn Residue Shredding Methods: Evaluating Particle Size Distribution and Rating of Structural Integrity of Corn Stalk Segments |
| title_sort | comparative analysis of mechanical in field corn residue shredding methods evaluating particle size distribution and rating of structural integrity of corn stalk segments |
| topic | corn harvest corn header corn stover flail mower European corn borer combine harvester |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/2/263 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sebastianramm comparativeanalysisofmechanicalinfieldcornresidueshreddingmethodsevaluatingparticlesizedistributionandratingofstructuralintegrityofcornstalksegments AT hansheinrichvoßhenrich comparativeanalysisofmechanicalinfieldcornresidueshreddingmethodsevaluatingparticlesizedistributionandratingofstructuralintegrityofcornstalksegments AT mariohasler comparativeanalysisofmechanicalinfieldcornresidueshreddingmethodsevaluatingparticlesizedistributionandratingofstructuralintegrityofcornstalksegments AT yvesreckleben comparativeanalysisofmechanicalinfieldcornresidueshreddingmethodsevaluatingparticlesizedistributionandratingofstructuralintegrityofcornstalksegments AT eberhardhartung comparativeanalysisofmechanicalinfieldcornresidueshreddingmethodsevaluatingparticlesizedistributionandratingofstructuralintegrityofcornstalksegments |