POTATO GROWING METHOD AND APPARATUS Russian patent published in 1999 - IPC

FIELD: agriculture. SUBSTANCE: method involves hilling up during pre-emergence period and orienting plant underground part centrally of ridge relative to its vertical axis of symmetry at ridge sides; exposing plants to forces of equal value oriented in opposite directions and dynamically acting upon plants along arced path from their bottom to top parts. Force is created by hiller moldboards rotated by engagement with soil and positioned in symmetry with respect to vertical axis of symmetry of ridge. Hiller working surfaces are formed as covering disks with hilling members and covering disk angle adjusting mechanisms, with angle of covering disks being set within the range of 2-85 deg depending on distance between horizontal axes of adjacent ridges. Force developed by hiller moldboards acts upon plant roots and stem buds to create stresses. Method further involves separating soil in ridge top part. Separating members of drums rotated by cooperation with soil act upon slowly advancing soil to reverse direction of projection on horizontal axis of symmetry of ridge of linear speed vectors of soil particles movable in ridge top part. Soil layer height above tubers is reduced to 0.01-0.5 m for each pass of apparatus. Hilling process performed prior to soil separation in ridge top part provides increase in soil layer height above tubers in ridge by at least 0.02-0.51 m depending on row spacing for each pass of hiller. EFFECT: increased efficiency by uniform thickness of soil layer above tubers in adjacent ridges, increased potato yield and quality, and improved weed control. 4 cl, 12 dwg