The objective of this work was to evaluate the tire inflation pressure effects on tractor disc harrow performance. The pressures tested were: 100 kPa in front tires and 70 kPa in rear tires; 140 kPa in the tires of both axles; 190 kPa in the tires of both axles. Field tests with disc harrow in secondary tillage were performed under real working conditions, in tilled and dry medium textured soils. The evaluation parameters were: the slip, the actual forward speed, the work capacity, the overall energy efficiency and the fuel consumption per hectare. Concerning the situations of tire inflation pressure specified by the tractor manufacturer and the inflation pressure specified by the tire manufacturer, there were no significant differences, both in work capacity and in fuel consumption per hectare. Higher tire inflation pressures showed a slight reduction (3 to 5%) in the work capacity and a significantly increase in the fuel consumption per hectare (10 to 25%), even in good traction conditions displayed by the interval of slip average values (7 to 15%).
work capacity; fuel consumption per hectare; energy efficiency; harrowing
