Optimum land size determination for sugar beet mechanization in Turkiye

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine the optimum land parcel size in order to maximize the use of total task time and minimize total area loss. It was found that there were a lot of factors affecting optimum parcel size, such as technical specifications of the farm machineries, land irrigation status, soil type, and farm techniques applied to farm mechanization. A computer program written in FORTRAN, was developed to make a precise calculation about area loss as well as the total time for completing farm operation from the soil tillage and seed bed preparation time to harvesting time of the sugar beet mechanization in Turkiye. Measured data about farm machineries and the soil were used in the computer model. When the area loss and the total task time were numerically equal, the total area of the land was suggested as an optimum parcel size. For sugar beet mechanization, the optimum parcel size calculated between 1.6-2.4 ha depending on soil type, machine parameters, land irrigation status, farm techniques and the number of workers involved for completing agricultural operations on time.