Performance characteristics of the John Deere 5820 harvester used for preparing maize silage for dairy cattle on family farms

Abstract

The research was conducted on commercial family farms in the region of Western Serbia. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance characteristics and operating reliability of the used/old self-propelled John Deere 5820 harvester owned by the Mitrovic Brothers family farm. The harvester was used for preparing ZP-735 hybrid maize silage, with the average maize yield and forage moisture being 24.35 t/ha and 60%, respectively. Under operating conditions, at the lowest operating speed of 2.99 km/ha, the harvester had a harvesting capacity of 28.55 t/ha. With an increase in operating speed to 4.5 km/ha, the harvesting performance was raised to 37.40 t/h. During the season, the harvester ensiled 125 ha at an average daily efficiency of 7.25 ha. The harvester operated in a high-quality and reliable manner without any major breakdown, which suggested that used harvesters, if properly maintained, can exhibit good operational efficiency. Ensiling costs at the test field on the commercial farm were 1.54 diners per kilogram.

Istraživanja su obavljena na porodičnim komercijalnim farmama užeg područja Zapadne Srbije. Sa ciljem da se utvrde eksploatacione karakteristike i pouzdanost u radu polovnog samohodnog kombajna John Deere 5820 u vlasništvu porodične farme 'Braća Mitrović'. Kombajn je korišćen u procesu siliranja hibridnog kukuruza ZP-735, čiji je prosečan prinos iznosio 24,35 t/ha, a vlažnost mase je bila 60%. Kombajn je u proizvodnim uslovima rada pri najmanjoj brzini od 2,99 km/h ostvario propusnu moć od 28,55 t/h. Sa povećanjem brzine rada na 4,5 km/h ostvarena je veća produktivnost, koja je iznosila 37,40 t/h. U toku sezone kombajn je silirao 125 ha sa prosečnim dnevnim učinkom od 7,25 ha. Kombajn je kvalitetno i pouzdano radio bez većih kvarova, što ukazuje na to da i polovni kombajni ukoliko se pravilno održavaju mogu da ostvare dobar radni efekat. Troškovi siliranja na komercijalnoj farmi, na ispitivanim parcelama iznosili su 1,54 dinara po kilogramu.