AGRICULTURE O LEVEL(FORM ONE) NOTES – AGRICULTURE MECHANICS

AGRICULTURE MECHANICS

THEME 2.0: AGRICULTURE MECHANICS

Introduction

In order to do work, energy must be expended/used. The rate of energy expenditure, proportional to the rate of doing work, is known as power.

TYPES OF ENERGY

Animated

Energy expended by using muscular power of human beings and animals.

Unanimated

Energy expended through transformation of natural sources e.g. water, wind, solar, and fossil fuel. The concept means the application of engineering principles and techniques in agricultural activities involving utilization of all forms of energy through mechanical assistance in agricultural production.

Devices providing mechanical assistance include:

• Tools: A piece of equipment with only a few parts connected together e.g. slashes, hoe, discs, blades.
• Implement: More complex than tools, having a large number of parts connected together e.g. ploughs, disc harrows, ridges.
• Machine: The most complex of the three, an assembly of connected parts which can move relative to each other in a controlled manner e.g. mowers, harvesters, and planters.

ADVANTAGES OF AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION

A major reason for mechanizing agriculture is to increase production.

Ways production is improved by mechanization:

• By bringing about more intensive production through more effective and timely operations, increased speed of working, and increased capacity to do hard and difficult operations such as land clearing and sub-soiling.
• By putting more land into production.

Based on the above, advantages include:

• Relieving labour bottlenecks at peak periods such as during weeding and harvesting.
• Increasing labour productivity by doing each operation at the proper time.
• Increasing labour productivity and employment during slack periods.
• Reducing drudgery involved with hard or dirty work, such as manure spreading and clearing.
• Encouraging human and industrial development through increased profit from mechanized agriculture.
• Possibility of reducing production costs.

LIMITATIONS OF AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION

Several factors limit the effectiveness of mechanization in agricultural production. These include:

• Physical factors such as mechanizing mountainous areas with steep slopes, oxenization programmes in tsetse-infested areas.
• Biological factors, e.g. cassava root harvesting machinery, pests, and diseases.
• Technical and educational factors; development of knowledge, attitudes, and skills required to operate, maintain, and service agricultural equipment.
• Economic factors; understanding of costs and benefits of operations for maximum efficiency and output.

DISCIPLINES OF STUDY OF AGRICULTURE MECHANICS

• Land and water resource development
  • Preventing excessive water loss by retaining needed water (water conservation).
  • Controlling excessive soil loss from fields (soil conservation).
• Processing and storage of agricultural products
  • Activities involving processing of raw agricultural products e.g. vegetables, fruits, grains in processing industries.
• Farm survey and mapping
  • Includes farm structures e.g. buildings, fences, dips, crushes, roads, etc.
• Plant and animal production
  • Activities including farm operations involved in crop and livestock production.

FARM TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

Introduction

Many operations and tasks are performed on the farm during crop and livestock production. Some tasks are too complicated to be performed satisfactorily by hand alone. Therefore, a farmer needs various tools and equipment.

Tools are quite simple and are held in the hand as one performs a particular operation.

Why farmers use tools and equipment

• To increase efficiency and make farm operations easier.
• Farm jobs can be done easily and quickly.
• To minimize injuries to livestock.
• They relieve farmers of fatigue from tiring tasks.
• To enhance production.
• Enable farmers to produce better quality products.

Categories of farm tools and equipment

There are five categories of farm tools and equipment:

• Garden tools and equipment
• Workshop tools and equipment
• Livestock production tools and equipment
• Plumbing tools and equipment
• Masonry tools and equipment

The choice of tools in any category depends on various factors such as:

• The task to be performed.
• The tool’s efficiency.
• The level of knowledge.
• Skill of the user.
• The availability of the tool.

Garden tools and equipment

These are all the tools and equipment a farmer needs for crop production, from the first stage of crop production up to harvesting and post-harvesting practices. Many tools are required to carry out these activities efficiently.

Field management practices include:

• Pruning
• Pest and disease control
• Watering
• Weeding
• Transplanting, drying the grains
• Earthing up, harvesting
• Transportation

These tools include:

• Hand hoe or member: Used for seedbed preparation, planting, and harvesting of root crops.
• AXE: Used to cut down trees.
• Pick axe and Mattock: Used for digging up stones and tree stumps (roots).
• HOE: Used for seedbed preparation, planting, weeding, and harvesting of root crops.
• FORKED HOE: Used for removing underground perennial weeds, digging hard, stony, wet or muddy soils, and harvesting tuber crops such as Irish potatoes.
• SPADE: Used for digging in place of a jembe, e.g., in stony places, and removing soil when digging holes and applying manure.

• Wheelbarrow: Used for transporting small loads like sand, bags of seed or seedlings during transplanting, bags of fertilizer within a short distance.
• SPRING BALANCE: Used for weighing farm produce and farm inputs.
• RAKE: Used for collecting uprooted plant roots and stems, rhizomatous weeds, or precious crop residue.
  • Breaking large soil clods and removing stones and other rubbish to obtain a fine tilt for tiny seeds.
  • Leveling and finishing off the seedbed.
  • Collecting mowed grass.
• Water pump and Watering can: Used for watering seedlings in seed boxes, potted plants, nursery beds, transplanted seedlings, and seeds.

• Tape measure: Used for measuring distance and length.
• Soil auger: Used for soil sampling during soil analysis/testing and digging holes for fixing fence posts.

• Knapsack sprayer: Used for applying agrochemicals such as foliar fertilizer, herbicides, or pesticides to crops efficiently, economically, and safely.
• Sprinkler: Used for applying water to crops in overhead irrigation safely.

• Hose pipe: Used for conveying water from one area to another.

• Garden shear: Used for trimming hedges and shrubs on the farm.

• Pruning saw: Used for pruning perennial crops like coffee, citrus fruits, and pollarding trees.

• Meter rule: Used for measuring distance.
• Secateurs: Used for pruning crops like coffee and cutting unwanted branches and suckers of flowers.

• Garden trowel: Used for loosening the soil, digging small shallow holes, and lifting seedlings from nursery beds during transplanting.
• Garden fork: Used for weeding in nurseries or carrot fields and preparing holes for transplanting seedlings.
• Manure fork: Used for turning and collecting manure on the farm.

• Pruning hook: Used for cutting branches of tall trees and pruning crops like tea.

• Shovel: Used for scooping loose soil, fertilizer, seeds, and sand.
• Leveling board: Used for leveling a prepared seedbed, especially in rice fields.
• Dibber: Used for making holes into which seedlings can be transplanted.

• Sickles: Used for cutting grass and harvesting cereal crops like rice.

• Anvil pruner: Used for pruning in coffee, cocoa, and rubber plantations, vineyards, orchards, and for horticultural purposes.

LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

These are tools and equipment used for routine management practices in livestock, e.g.:

• Identification
• Castration
• Dehorning
• Disease and parasite control
• Breeding
• Milking
• Restraining animals

They facilitate easy handling of livestock, minimizing injuries to both livestock and stock handlers.

• Elastrator: To enlarge the rubber ring during castration of small livestock, to dehorn livestock, and for docking lambs.

• Burdizzo: Used for bloodless castration of bulls, rams, and billy goats by snapping the spermatic cords.

• Syringes and hypodermic needles: Used for administering injections and taking blood samples. Syringes can be used for administering liquid drugs e.g. vaccines and to infuse antibiotics into the teat canal to prevent mastitis.
• Thermometer: Used for measuring body temperature of livestock by placing it in the rectum for a given period.
• Halter: Used for restraining cattle. It prevents choking of the animal and ensures complete control.

• Hoof trimmer: Used for cutting or trimming overgrown hooves of livestock e.g. cattle, sheep, and goats.

Strip cup

Used for detecting mastitis in milk; the drop shows clots on the black plate.

Tracar and cannula

Used to relieve bloat in livestock by piercing the rumen to release gases.

• Wool shears: Used for clipping or shaving wool in sheep.
• Ear notcher: Used for cutting identification shapes on the ears of an animal.

• Bull ring and lead stick: Used for restraining bulls, giving the handler a safe distance from the animal which can be dangerous when approached closely.
• Bucket: Used for holding milk during hand milking, fetching, and transporting water.
• Milk churn: Used for storing and transporting milk.
• Milk strainer/sieve: Used for removing any visible foreign matter.
• Hot iron: Applies heat to horn buds to destroy cells and prevent horn growth.

• Teeth clipper: For cutting wolf teeth in piglets.
• Drenching gun/dosing gun: For oral administration of liquid drugs to animals, e.g., during deworming.
• Bolus gun: For administering solid drugs (tablets) orally.

MAINTENANCE

Looking after tools is sometimes called maintenance. If you use your tools correctly and look after them properly, they will last much longer.

• The metal surfaces must be cleaned after use.
• Scrape off any soil and moisture.
• If still damp, leave in the sun to dry.
• Do not forget tools and do not let rain fall on them.
• Grease to stop rusting (oil or grease).
• Do not hit one tool with another.
• Sharpen and replace handles.
• Replace lost bolts and nuts.
• Store properly in a tool rack or cabinet.
• Replace worn-out blades.
• Tighten loose nuts and bolts.
• Lubricate to reduce friction.
• Coat with oil to prevent rusting.

FARM WORKSHOP

A farm workshop is a place where storage, maintenance, repair, and fabrication of metal are done.

Types

• Mobile workshop
• Stationary workshop

Quality of a good workshop

• Should be at the centre of the farm.
• Should be on well-drained soil.
• Should have all necessary tools and equipment but not be expensive.
• Ample room for easy movement.
• Should be well ventilated.

Advantages of a workshop

• Reduces costs incurred for repair and maintenance.
• Ensures continuous farm operation as repairs are done quickly.
• Offers time economy in relation to operations during varying seasons.

Location of the workshop

• Should be constructed at the centre of the farm for easy access.
• Should be located on well-drained soil for easy passage.
• Should be convenient to other projects e.g. poultry.
• Should have good ventilation.
• Firefighting equipment should be well placed.
• Walls should be high enough to allow easy passage of heavy-duty vehicles.
• Floor should be made of concrete.
• Extension floor should be provided for storage of implements and machinery.

Layout of the workshop (features)

• Main overhead area
• Washing and service place
• Staff office
• Woodworking area (carpentry)
• Metalworking area

Safety precautions

(a) Housekeeping

• Working space should be kept free from obstructions.
• Floor should be kept clean by wiping spilled grease and oil and disposing of all junk and rubbish promptly.
• Benches and tools should be cleaned and properly arranged.

(b) Personal protection against injury

• All tools should be kept in good condition.
• Wear goggles and use shields when grinding or welding.
• Take care when using powered saws and other sharp tools.
• Safety boots should be worn, and machines having belts and gears should be fitted with guards to avoid accidents.

(c) Protection against fire hazards

• All flammable liquids should be stored in approved containers.
• Make partitions using metal sheets or asbestos cement boards where forges and welders are installed.
• Fire extinguishers should be easily accessible.

Woodwork

Timber can be classified into:

• Softwood – from trees with needle-like leaves.
• Hardwood – from trees with broad leaves.

There are two methods used to convert a tree into boards or planks:

• By plain or through sawing.
• Quarter or rift sawing.

Basic woodwork tools

Saws

• Cross-cut saw – used for cutting across the grain of timber.
• Rip-saw – cutting wood along the grain / splitting logs.
• Dovetail saw – cutting dovetail joints.
• Tenon/Back saw – cutting joinery work in wood, cutting wood grain in any direction.

Plane

• Jack plane – used for smoothing the surface of timber/wood.
• Smoothing plane/Finishing plane – finishes the surface after jack plane.
• Try plane – general purpose.

Hammers

• Wooden mallet – used to drive wood chisels.
• Claw hammer – for driving nails into wood and removing nails; also for straightening nails or metal.
• Ball-pein hammer
  • For straightening metal sheets and rods.
  • For riveting.
  • For driving in nails.
• Sledge hammer
  • For demolishing farm structures.
  • For driving pegs into the ground.
  • For breaking big stones.

It is used for cutting and shaping circular work and forming the curved edges of boards, planning curved surfaces.

Rasp/wood file

For smoothing wood surfaces.

Other saws

• Bow saw – used to cut thin and irregular curves.
• Power chainsaw – used for lopping and cutting tough wood.
• Saw set pliers – for setting the teeth of saws.
• Compass saw – used for cutting irregular lines or curved surfaces and narrow places such as holes.
• Keyhole saw – a tapered and narrow blade like compass saw but smaller and longer.

Metalwork

• Hacksaw: Cutting wires and metals.
• Cold chisel: For cutting heavy gauge metal sheets and shapes in metal sheets.
• Single cut file and double cut file: For smoothing or sharpening blades of cutting tools.
• Divider: To scribe areas or circles on metal work.
• Wire brush: For cleaning vices or removing metal chippings in files.
• Centre punch: For marking points on the surface of metal sheets before drilling.
• Screwdriver: Driving screws in and out of metal or wood surfaces.
• Try square: Used in both wood and metal work for checking squareness (measuring 45° and 90°) when joining pieces of wood or setting doors and window frames.
• Mallet: Used in both woodwork and metalwork for shaping thin sheets of metal; steel hammers may damage thin sheets.
• G-clamp: Used in both woodwork and metalwork for fastening parts of wood together (e.g., doors, windows) and holding pieces together during tasks such as sawing and cutting timber.
• Soldering gun: For melting rods or soldering wires when repairing or fabricating metal sheets or joining wires using solder.
• Tin snip: For cutting thin sheets of metal and iron.

Wood joints

Every place that two pieces of wood meet is considered a joint. Most joints are held together with glue, nails, staples, or screws. Joints are crucial to any type of wood construction including furniture building, housing framing, or picture framing.

Types of joints

• Butt joint: The simplest joint where two pieces of wood join side by side by inserting dowels or nails and gluing together.
• Halving or Halve lap joint: Can be corner-lap or cross-lap. A corner-lap joint forms a right angle where the ends meet, while a cross-lap joint is formed when two pieces cross each other.
• Mitered butt joint: Similar to the standard butt joint, typically joining two boards at the end meeting the side of another board.
• Tongue and groove joint: Holds two boards together along their edges rather than their ends or centers.
• Mortise and tenon joint: One board is fitted inside a second board. The mortise is a square hole cut into the side of a board. The tenon is a protruding piece from the end of the second board.
• Dovetail joint

Method of metal joining

Metal plates can be joined by nuts, bolts, screws, and studs, resulting in temporary joints. Joints may also be accomplished through riveting, gluing, soldering, brazing, and welding, resulting in permanent joints. Permanent joining requires more specialized skills and relatively sophisticated equipment.

1. Soldering: The process of joining metal parts by means of a fusible alloy called solder. The molten solder is applied between the parts to be soldered. When cooled and hardened, the joint is complete. There are two types: (a) Soft soldering requiring low temperature, and (b) Hard soldering requiring high temperature. Equipment includes soldering iron, soldering stove, flux, brush, and tinman’s solder.

2. Welding: The process of joining two pieces of metal by melting them locally together with a filler rod. This is done by gas or arc welding.
3. Forging: The process by which heated metal is hammered into the required shape. Equipment includes hand fan forge (heated by charcoal or coal), anvil (to support the workpiece while hammered), sledge hammer (for striking metal directly or forming tools), and tongs (for holding heated metal). The metal is heated to the correct temperature using a hand fan forge and hammered into shape quickly before it loses heat.

PLUMBING

Involves cutting, threading, and fitting pipes. Piping materials include lead, cast iron, asbestos cement, copper, and plastic pipes.

Plumbing equipment includes:

• Pipe cutter: For cutting pipes.
• Pipe stock: For marking threads on pipes.
• Pipe wrench: Used for fitting pipes.

Types of pipe fittings

• Couplings: For connecting pipes in a straight line.
  • Plain coupling: For connecting pipes of the same size.
  • Reduced coupling: For connecting pipes of different sizes.
• Elbows: Used to change the direction of the pipe run, usually 90° or 45°. They may be plain or reduced elbows.
• Tees: Used for branching off the main pipeline.
• Nipple: Short pipes with threads on both ends, used to connect two fittings.
• Union: Used for connecting two pieces of pipe where either can be turned or where part of the system will be removed for repair or replacement.
• Pipe valves: Fittings connected within a pipeline system to control or shut off flow through the line.