MECHANIZATION OF SOIL PREPARATION FOR GREENHOUSES

Production of vegetables, flowers, seedlings in greenhouses still prevails despite quick development of hydroponics. One of labor and power intensive processes in this technology is soil preparation for plant cultivation. Soil for greenhouses is comprised of several components which should be well mixed and evenly laid. This article describes technological flowchart which makes it possible to reduce the number of intermediate procedures, to increase labor efficiency, and to decrease expenses for soil preparation. New machinery is presented used for soil preparation for greenhouses. The technological flowchart is comprised of the following main procedures: loading and transportation of components, layering of the components on site, loading with simultaneous soil mixing, soil transportation to greenhouse, soil layering on greenhouse floor. Then, planting is carried out, cultivation and harvesting. Subsequently the soil is removed from greenhouse and replaced with new stuff. In order to lay initial components and ready soil in greenhouse, it is proposed to use an integrated machine which is able to lay several components simultaneously: organic fertilizers, peat, mineral fertilizers. Loading with simultaneous mixing is carried out by a mixer-loader equipped with screw toothed actuator. Waste soil is removed by a machine with blade spreader and scraping belt conveyer. This article describes also their design and operational principle. The advantages of the proposed machinery are that they are adapted for greenhouse conditions, thus increasing efficiency and decreasing the number of procedures and expenses. On the basis of theoretical studies, the equations were developed for determination of efficiency of the considered machinery. The equations include the main variables of actuators and conditions of their usage.