Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T05:30:47.900Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Evaporation-based drying rate of forage: effects of desiccants and crop density

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

R. E. Pitt
R. E. Pitt
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, U.S.A.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The application of chemical desiccants to lucerne and red clover after cutting is studied from the standpoint of increasing the drying rate in relation to pan evaporation. Significant increases in the evaporation-based drying constant are found on both first and second cuttings of these crops, but the savings of a full day's drying time is expected only for second-cut lucerne in the north-eastern U.S. climate. The effect of crop density on drying rate is also studied. In conjunction with a theoretical analysis, it is determined that the drying constant varies as γ-0.65, where γ is the areal density. The evaporation-based drying constant is then related to crop yield and the ratio of cutting width to windrow width.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 105 , Issue 2 , October 1985 , pp. 223 - 229
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Johnson, T. R., Thomas, J. W. & Rotz, C. A. (1983). Quality of alfalfa hay chemically treated at cutting to hasten field drying. Journal of Dairy Science 66, 1052–1056.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pitt, R. E. (1984). Forage drying in relation to pan evaporation.Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers 27, 1933–1937, 1944.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rotz, C. A., Sprott, D. J. & Thomas, J. W. (1984). Interaction of mechanical and chemical conditioning of alfalfa1.Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers 27, 1009–1014.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rotz, C. A., Thomas, J. W., Johnson, T. R. & Herrington, D. A. (1982). Mechanical and chemical conditioning to speed alfalfa drying. American Society of Agricultural Engineers Paper No. 82–1036.Google Scholar
Schoneb, C., Marble, V. & Langston, C. (1982). Use of a desiccant on alfalfa hay to reduce drying time. 12th California Alfalfa Symposium, Fresno, CA, December 8–9.Google Scholar
Tullberg, J. N. & Angus, D. E. (1978). The effect of potassium carbonate solution on the drying of lucerne. 1. Laboratory studies.Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 91, 551–556.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tullberg, J. N. & Minson, D. J. (1978). The effect of potassium carbonate solution on the drying of lucerne. 2. Field studies. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 91, 557–561.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wieghart, M., Thomas, J. W. & Tesar, M. B. (1980). Hastening drying rate of cut alfalfa with chemical treatment. Journal of Animal Science 51, 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wieghart, M., Thomas, J. W., Tesar, M. B. & Hansen, C. M. (1983). Acceleration of alfalfa drying in the field by chemical application at cutting. Crop Science 23, 225–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar