Rip Strip equipment for soil preparation

An implement widely used in the United States, but still little known in Brazil, the Rip Strip is capable of cutting crop residues, preparing the seeding line and scarifying the soil in a single pass. 

The Rip Strip RS4L is a soil preparation equipment being developed in Brazil, however, it is already well known and a best seller in the United States, where it was developed by KMC - an American company that is almost 50 years old. In Brazil, this equipment will be manufactured and distributed by KBM – Equipamentos Agrícolas, a Dumont company that has had a partnership agreement with KMC since 2011 for this and other equipment aimed mainly at peanut cultivation.

The Rip Strip promotes, in a single pass, the localized preparation of the sowing line on the straw - with spacing between stems adjustable between 0,76m and 1,02m - through the simultaneous cutting of the remains of the previous crop, and the turning of the soil through scarification.

This soil preparation, called conservation management, brings benefits to both the producer and the soil, such as reducing the number of operations and consequently reducing costs, providing protection against erosion and moisture loss, among other advantages. Meanwhile, conventional tillage uses more aggressive practices, which generates a series of disadvantages, such as soil degradation due to its high mobilization, faster decomposition of organic matter, soil erosion due to the absence of vegetation cover and greater compaction by soil. high machine traffic in the area.

To check the operation of the Rip Strip, a team from the Agricultural Machinery and Mechanization Laboratory, from Unesp Jaboticabal, worked with the equipment on corn straw to prepare the soil for peanut cultivation, which is implemented in soil under conventional preparation. A 170hp tractor was used in the test, equipped with automatic steering using a hydraulic pilot with satellite navigation (real-time kinematic positioning, RTK). The RTK correction signal was sent via UHF radio, emitted by a fixed base (tower), with the purpose of facilitating the directing of the sowing lines over the preparation lines with the Rip Strip. Depending on soil conditions, the power demand to drive this equipment is around 20hp to 35hp per line.

The equipment can be used to prepare the area for the implementation of various crops, requiring some adjustments to its various components. Among them, pressure from springs, located above the cutting disc and the declogging roller, adjustments of the corrugated and wavy discs can be carried out through angulations – opening or closing them, for greater or lesser movement of the soil next to the sowing line. .

The equipment is coupled to the tractor's three-point hydraulic system and has components that perform specific functions. Next, each of the components that make up the equipment will be described.

Cutting disc: It has a diameter of 24” and has the function of cutting the straw from the previous crop. In tests carried out, it obtained excellent results on sugarcane straw and also on corn crop residues.

Toothed discs: the pair of discs are located on the sides of the cutting disc, moved backwards, with the function of removing straw from the row for later sowing, forming a strip approximately 20cm wide. This disc works perpendicular to the ground and can be moved up to 45 degrees in relation to the direction of travel, making it possible or not to remove straw.

Shaft/tip: It has the function of soil mobilization and can work between 20cm and 45cm deep, depending on the condition of the soil. The rods have a system of springs that act as a safety mechanism and guarantee pressure of up to 250kg. The tip of the rod (active organ) is 4,8cm wide by 16cm long, you can change to wider tips. To sow peanuts, the stem must be 20cm to 25cm deep in the soil (or more if compaction occurs) and a spacing of 90cm between stems is recommended.

Corrugated discs: the pair of 9” discs can work side by side or one slightly in front of the other, depending on the condition of the soil and straw. They work in the area of ​​soil mobilized by the rod and have angulation adjustment in order to direct more or less soil into the sowing line.

Wavy discs: the pair of discs, measuring approximately 11”, provides the breakup of the clods formed by the stem.

De-clogging/leveling roller: It is 50cm wide and completes the function of breaking up the corrugated discs, also providing leveling of the prepared strip.

The Rip Strip's chassis bar has another relevant feature: it connects the mobile and active components of the equipment and is divided into two parts. Each part has two cultivation lines, that is, each part works independently to follow the slope of the land (pantographic system).

Finally, it is worth highlighting that, regardless of the equipment to be used, it is always recommended that it operate under appropriate conditions, making specific adjustments for each situation encountered, such as: soil humidity, culture, type of soil, relief, among others, as it directly interferes with the quality of the operation carried out and, in the end, reflects on the productivity of the crop.

Carlos Eduardo A. Furlani, Franciele Morlin Carneiro, Lucas Augusto da Silva Girio, AntonioTássio S. Ormond, Elizabeth HarunaKazama, Aline Spaggiari Alcântara, Cristiano Zerbato, Agricultural Machinery and Mechanization Laboratory - Lamma

Article published in issue 153 of Cultivar Máquinas.