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Between-Row Mower Design for Weed Control in Organically Grown No-Till Soybeans

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Between-Row Mower Design for Weed Control in Organically Grown No-Till Soybeans BETWEEN-ROW MOWER DESIGN FOR WEED CONTROL IN ORGANICALLY GROWN NO-TILL SOYBEANS ________________________________________________________________________ A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri ________________________________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science ________________________________________________________________________ By GABRIEL AYICHIM ZULKARINI ABDULAI Dr. Kerry Clark, Thesis Supervisor JULY 2018 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the thesis entitled BETWEEN-ROW MOWER DESIGN FOR WEED CONTROL IN ORGANICALLY GROWN NO-TILL SOYBEANS Presented by Gabriel Ayichim Zulkarini Abdulai A candidate for the degree of Master of Science, Biological Engineering And hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Dr. Teng Lim Dr. Kerry Clark Dr. Leon Schumacher Dr. Steve Borgelt ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A local proverb in my home country states that ‘when someone has been good to you, appreciate them and be grateful’ It is therefore with heartfelt gratitude that I want to thank Dr. Kerry Clark for providing me with this great opportunity to grow in knowledge and to contribute to the field of mechanical weed control in organic no-till. I am most grateful for this opportunity and the scholarship given me. I also want to thank Dr. Leon Schumacher for his encouragement. Your counsel and mentorship has been helpful and contributed to making me a better student. I am also grateful to Dr. Teng Lim for his advice and support in the pursuit of my master’s degree. I want to also thank Dr. Steve Borgelt for broadening my horizon in hydraulics. Dr. Rob Myers supported and encouraged me greatly in my pursuits. I am also grateful to Dr. Mark Ellersieck for his help in analyzing my data. Betzy Valdez and Ricardo Costa were helpful on the field, assisting with weed collection and other field activities. I also want to say thank you to Pieter Los, for his support and help on the field. I am also grateful to Zhang Xiqiao for his help in SolidWorks. I am thankful to Benson Naylor and Gordon Ellison (Gina) for their advice and help in the construction of the mower. I want to thank my wife, Nahja Abdulai for her support and love. You have been amazing. I love you so much. My family in Ghana, my mum and siblings, their love and support has been amazing. Finally, and most importantly I am most grateful to God for His grace, love and strength throughout the pursuit of this degree. I am forever grateful. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... ii List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. v List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ vi Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... x 1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Justification ........................................................................................................................ 2 1.2 Specific Objectives ............................................................................................................. 3 1.3 Chapter One Reference ..................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................................................................... 6 2.0 Literature Review .............................................................................................................. 6 2.1 Organic Farming ................................................................................................................ 6 2.2 Advantages of Organic agriculture .................................................................................. 6 2.2.1 Improved Soil Living Organism Activity ..................................................................... 6 2.2.2 Enhanced Soil Physical Characteristics ....................................................................... 7 2.2.3 Organic Matter Improvement ...................................................................................... 7 2.3 Market for Organic Corn and Soybeans ......................................................................... 8 2.4 No-Till Agriculture ............................................................................................................ 8 2.4.1 No-till and Cover Crops .................................................................................................... 9 2.4.2 Advantages of No-till agriculture ............................................................................... 10 2.5 Weeds in Organic Farming ............................................................................................. 10 2.5.1 Weed Management Methods .......................................................................................... 10 2.5.2 Mechanical weed control ................................................................................................ 11 2.5.3 Between-Row Mowing..................................................................................................... 11 2.5.3.1 Importance of Between-Row Mowing ........................................................................... 12 2.5.3.2 When to Mow .................................................................................................................. 13 2.5.3.3 Mower Equipment ......................................................................................................... 14 2.5.3.4 Rotary mowers ......................................................................................................... 15 2.6 Hydraulic Between-row mower ......................................................................................... 15 2.7 Chapter Two Reference ..................................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER THREE ..................................................................................................................... 22 3.0 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................... 22 iii 3.1 Background ...................................................................................................................... 22 3.2 Mower Description ........................................................................................................... 26 3.3 Hydraulic Motor Connection .............................................................................................. 29 3.3.1 Series Connection ......................................................................................................... 29 3.3.2 Parallel Connection ...................................................................................................... 31 3.4 Flow Divider ..................................................................................................................... 32 3.5 Hydraulic Motor Selection .............................................................................................. 34 3.6 Required Flow Against Displacement ............................................................................ 38 3.7 Chapter Three Reference ................................................................................................ 39 CHAPTER FOUR ........................................................................................................................ 40 4.0 Results and Discussion ..................................................................................................... 40 4.1 Herman Crop Yield ......................................................................................................... 40 4.2 Herman Weed Biomass ................................................................................................... 42 4.3 Bradford Weed Biomass ................................................................................................. 46 4.4 Cover Crops ...................................................................................................................... 51 4.5 Herman Mowing Damage ............................................................................................... 52 CHAPTER FIVE ......................................................................................................................... 55 5.0 Conclusion and Recommendation ................................................................................... 55 5.1 Conclusion for Objective One (1) ................................................................................... 55 5.2 Conclusion for Objective Two (2) ................................................................................... 55 5.3 Recommendations for Future Studies ............................................................................ 56 6.0 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................. 57 iv List of Tables Table Page Chapter Three 3.1 Specifications
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