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Our Methodology
BUSH CLEARING & LAND PREPARATION
Land clearing must be treated more as an art than a science because production rates and methods vary greatly from one area to another. This section deals with the many variables in land clearing including methods, equipment and procedure to determine productivity rates.
• Vegetative growth — Factors affecting production and therefore cost, include the number of trees, size of trees, wood density, root systems, vines and under- growth. These factors can be estimated by a tree count. For this we will do a survey.
• End Use of Land — since different end uses require different degrees of clearing (i.e. highways, dams, tree crops, row crops etc.), this is one of the most important factors to consider in choosing the proper clearing method and equipment.
• Soil Conditions or Bearing Capacity — Factors affecting clearing operations include topsoil depth, soil type, moisture content, and the presence of rocks and stones.
• Topography — Grade and terrain factors such as steep slopes, ditches, swampy areas, boulders and even ant hills greatly affect the normal operation of some equipment.
• Rainfall and climate — Usually all phases of cleared land from cutting to burning are a great concern to some degree with temperature changes and the amount of rainfall during the clearing operation.
• Job Specifications — dictate the degree of clearing to be done, area size, completion dates, method of debris disposal, soil conservation and other factors which affect method and equipment selection.
EQUIPMENT CHOICES
Methods for Initial Felling — There are several methods
• Indicating the degree of clearing for initial felling and several types of equipment for use with each method. The economical land area for each type of equipment will vary with the capital cost of equipment and mobilization cost. It is also affected by whether there are alternate uses for equipment such as using tractors for other construction work or tillage.
• Land Clearing Machines — Job size, severity of job such as tree size, and time limit to complete will influence machine selection. Some machines, such as the D6R, D7R, D8R and D9R are more suited for this type of work than others, but imagination and resourcefulness can allow the other types of machines in specific applications. For example, loaders are used more today in raking and piling operations than ever before.
• Operator Protection and Machine Guarding — Daily production has been estimated to increase 20% when cab guards are used. Cabs designed specifically for clearing are available from Rome and other auxiliary equipment manufacturers.
• The radiator, engine and underside of the tractor must be well protected. Perforated hoods, screens, crankcase guards and hydraulic cylinder guards are generally recommended.
• Generally speaking, lower cost clearing can be done with larger tractors if the amount of clearing involved is sufficient to merit the initial investment in the bigger machines. Because most clearing work requires frequent direction changes, a power shift transmission should be standard equipment. The direct drive transmission tractor is recommended when the tractor is use principally in constant drawbar work such as chaining or pulling a disc harrow. In most applications, a winch should also be considered in one of every three tractors in a fleet.
Our equipment.
Using Savannah Global Machinery through out Africa, we deliver the most efficient bush clearing projects done at an unbeatable standard. Here is some of our equipment below.
INITIAL LAND CLEARING
METHOD AND EQUIPMENT
• Pulling :
• 2 X D8R’s or D9R with 150-200 metres of anchor chain. May require 30 metres of 3” in the centre depending on timber. you may require tree pushers mounted on each dozer to enable a more effective push on the bigger trees. This work can only be done in daylight. Achievable in medium woodland is 20Ha per day.
Push Raking
• 2 X D8R’s with 24ft (7,3m) Savannah rakes, and 2 X D7R’s with 19ft (5,8m) Savannah rakes.
• This work must be done in daylight. D7’s should rake about 10 hectares each per day. D8’s should rake about 12 Hectares per day. This will vary dramatically depending on the weight of timber per hectare. It is generally accepted that working tractors in pairs increases production and safety. 4 units will achieve 60 Hectares per 8 hour day.
• Note : The Tyne Rakes used do not remove the topsoil during land clearing and preparation when the end use is for agriculture.
Root Ploughing
• Root Plough runs up to 30cm below the ground cutting all capillaries' and liffting the roots to the surface, this ensure no regrowth in the coming years.
• 2 X 5,6 meter (Double Shank) Model 941 Blade ploughs.
• The D8 and D9R’s fitted with drawbars and single shank rippers, we will take the D9 bulldozers off the pulling work when we are far enough ahead, and have two of them work around the clock blade ploughing the raked ground. The D8 and D9R's push raking bulldozers could be used to blade plough at night, leaving the rake and blade plough on the bulldozers for easy transition from one job to the other. Each unit should achieve 14 Hectares per 10 hour day. 4 Units will achieve approximately 56 Hectares per 10 hour day.
This operation can be done at night, so having four blade ploughs will give you a buffer in terms of production
Final raking and clean up
• A final procedure of cross raking with a specially built tyned ‘buck rake’ can be done to clear every stick and root out of the soil and to condition the soil. This inexpensive process ensures that there will be no root material getting caught in the rowcrop cultivation equipment. The raking of the soil at right angles, with tynes penetrating 250 mm, leaves the field in perfect condition. Some hand work will be required to remove the piles of root material as the use of any heavy equipment may cause compaction. The ‘Buck rake’ is about 11.3 metres wide and is fitted to a large 3PL tractor. The rake is moved through the soil until there is enough root material gathered and the machine is then raised and rotated to drop all the material from the curved tynes. These piles are left in a row across the field and then cross raked to further accumulate the material for removal.
• 2 Units will achieve 60 hectares in an 8 hour da
Objectives of Land Preparation
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To prepare a seed bed which permits optimal soil water air relations
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Good physical conditions for early root penetration and proliferation
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To incorporate preceding crop residues and organic manures
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To destroy weeds and hibernating pest & disease organisms
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To facilitate proper soil chemical and microbial activity
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Tillage operations through tractor drawn implements are most ideal and quick. For initial ploughing use either mould board plough or disc plough. Whenever, soil turning is desired, a mould board plough should be used.
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On the other-hand when the soil is hard, uneven and composed of crop stubbles, a disc plough is preferable. Ploughing at optimum soil moisture content is very essential to achieve tilth. Too wet soil interrupts movement of machinery and causes destruction of soil structure.
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On the other hand, to dry soil will not allow tynes to penetrate deep and results in frequent mechanical breakdowns, increased power requirement and cloddy soil surface affecting soil water air relations.
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The secondary tillage operations are carried out using disc harrows, tyned harrows or rotavator. The rotavator is a very useful multi - purpose implement, which cuts the crop residues, shred them and incorporates in the soil in one pass. Use mechanical methods (subsoiling or chiseling or deep ploughing) or biological means (green manuring between last rotation harvest and start of a new crop) to destroy the compacted layer and to allow roots to develop normally. Subsoiling was also shown to reduce fuel consumption, working time and facilitate optimum plant population
Steps in Land Preparation Involve the Following
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Subsoiling or chiseling to a depth of 50 to 75 cm to break hard compact sub-pan layer
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Ploughing to incorporate previous crop's crop residues and organic manures
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Discing to break clods
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Land shaping to provide the required gradient for draining excess water during rainy season
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Field layout - Construct ridges & furrows and shape them. Depth of furrows should be 25 cm. The furrow bottom should be loosened to about 10 cm.
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Provide drainage channels, which are deeper than the furrows along the field borders as well as within the field at regular intervals. Drainage channels are particularly important in the high rainfall areas to drain the excess water during rainy season.