Publication Date
1993
Description
Forage mat making is a process that combines 4 operations in a single machine: mowing the fresh crop, maceration with grinding rolls, compression of the mashed forage into a thin mat and deposition on the stubble for natural air drying. A large-1cale forage mat maker was recently built by our research group in Canada. It incorporates a 2.1 m wide mower, 8 seraced rolls 1.5 m wide and a belt press system' producing a continuous mat 1.2 m wide. The prototype was used to · evaluate wilting of lucerne in field conditions. Matted lucerne initially at 81 % moisture reached 60% moisture after 5 h and 20% moisture after 26-29 h of field wilting. In comparison, conditioned windrows required 24 h to reach 60% moisture and 55 h to reach 20% moisture. Mat making has the potential to reduce haymaking time by at least l day and eliminate most windrow manipulations such as tedding, inversion and raking.
Citation
Savoie, P; Tremblay, D; and Michaud, R, "Rapid Wilting with a Large Scale Forage Mat Maker" (2024). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 11.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1993/session17/11
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Rapid Wilting with a Large Scale Forage Mat Maker
Forage mat making is a process that combines 4 operations in a single machine: mowing the fresh crop, maceration with grinding rolls, compression of the mashed forage into a thin mat and deposition on the stubble for natural air drying. A large-1cale forage mat maker was recently built by our research group in Canada. It incorporates a 2.1 m wide mower, 8 seraced rolls 1.5 m wide and a belt press system' producing a continuous mat 1.2 m wide. The prototype was used to · evaluate wilting of lucerne in field conditions. Matted lucerne initially at 81 % moisture reached 60% moisture after 5 h and 20% moisture after 26-29 h of field wilting. In comparison, conditioned windrows required 24 h to reach 60% moisture and 55 h to reach 20% moisture. Mat making has the potential to reduce haymaking time by at least l day and eliminate most windrow manipulations such as tedding, inversion and raking.
